BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – Louisiana lawmakers want to redirect nearly $700 million in Gulf oil spill recovery money that had been earmarked for trust funds to instead finance road and bridge work.
The state is receiving yearly payments of $53 million through 2034 from BP as compensation for economic damages from the massive 2010 oil spill.
With a 90-11 House vote Tuesday, lawmakers gave final passage to a bill by Houma Rep. Tanner Magee steering that money to infrastructure projects.
On the list, $150 million would pay for improvements to LA Highway 1, which leads to a critical oil and gas hub. Another $125 million would help fast-track a LA Highway 415 project in West Baton Rouge Parish.
Other dollars would go to Interstate 49 South construction and an I-49 connector in Caddo Parish.
