Rare financing could be key to building $1B Mississippi River bridge in Baton Rouge

Crafting a public-private partnership could hold the key to financing a new $1 billion bridge across the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, according to members of a new panel tackling the issue and the lawmaker who helped create it.

The commission, which faces huge financial and political hurdles, met for the first time last week amid speculation on whether some combination of tolls, sales and property taxes could win voter approval, and make a new bridge reality.

But state Sen. Rick Ward III, R-Port Allen, who sponsored the 2018 law, said tax hikes should be a last resort in trying to answer daily motorists complaints about backups on both sides of the river.

Ward said the state needs a creative financing approach, like a public-private partnership, for the brunt of the costs.

Read more: https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/article_746dc874-2aee-11e9-97a4-a38d8567a285.html