Free Republic

The Louisiana Legislature voted overwhelmingly Thursday to move approximately $300 million annually from a fund that pays for higher education and health care to a fund that pays for large transportation projects. Supporters have said the spending will not only improve the state’s infrastructure system, but that it will also create construction jobs. Critics are concerned the proposal would exacerbate an already expected budget deficit in July 2025 affecting state universities, hospitals and other health care programs. Gov. John Bel Edwards needs to sign the legislation for it to become law. Edwards hasn’t decided if he approves of the bill...

Even though it’s been about a year since the last public meeting on the Interstate 49 Connector in Lafayette, the project isn’t dead, or even dormant. Louisiana Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson told The Acadiana Advocate on Monday things are happening to move the 5-mile section of interstate toward the federal Record of Decision needed to secure funding and start construction. The ideas and plans presented at public hearings over the past two years are being worked on, he said, and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development is drawing up a contract extension for the consultants working on the project....

Construction of two of the three sections of the multi-lane First Coast Expressway running through Clay County and neighboring Northeast Florida communities is behind schedule, according to Florida Department of Transportation officials, who cited a variety of factors for the delays. The expressway is a limited access toll facility is touted by elected officials and economic development authorities in Clay as being a gateway to new residential and commercial economic growth, which translates into an increased tax base. When completed, the expressway will span 46.5 miles. It be a connecting road outside of the existing Interstate 295 Loop between Interstate...

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. -- Bay St. Louis animal-control officers said there have been several reports in the past few days of a kangaroo hopping along U.S. 90. Mayor Eddie Favre said he's heard reports of people seeing a kangaroo four or five different times, and at first, Favre said, he wondered if someone was just joking around. Some officials suspect the animal was someone's pet that may have escaped. Based on eyewitness accounts, the kangaroo is about 4 feet tall. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs said kangaroos usually feed on fruits and vegetables. Most are nocturnal, but some...

The Texas Department of Transportation will spend more than $1 million to see if the La Entrada al Pacifico trade route can be designed to include all the features of the Trans-Texas Corridor, department officials say. La Entrada was envisioned as an overland trade route connecting the United States to Far East markets via West Texas and Northern Mexico. Its design is being revisited in light of the proposed $175 billion Trans-Texas Corridor, a megahighway paralleling Interstate 35 in Central Texas. La Entrada runs from Lamesa to Odessa-Midland along state Highway 349, then west on Interstate Highway 20 to U.S....