By Kimberly Hopson
L’Observateur

VACHERIE – The St. James Parish Council shied away from committing fully to the West Bank Connector project during Wednesday night’s meeting after a representative of SJB Group LLC, a Baton Rouge-area civil engineering company, proposed implementing tolls on both the Gramercy and Sunshine bridges to fund the project.

Wilfred Barry made a presentation during the meeting expounding on the transportation and economic benefits of the project, as well as its potential cost, an estimated $1.65 billion. According to Barry, the project, which would utilize and connect existing highways on the west bank of the Mississippi River, would connect with Interstate 310 in St. Charles Parish and then with Interstate 10.

The tentative West Bank Connector project would allow residents to travel to New Orleans from Port Allen, by navigating around Baton Rouge. The project also includes upgrades to Louisiana Highways 70 and 3127.

St. James Parish President Timmy Roussell said that he liked the project, but was concerned about the bridge tolls.

“I do support this project, I think it’s viable…minus the bridge,” he said.

Councilman Jason Amato also expressed concerns about the toll bridges mining capital from the residents and said that he had brought up the same concerns when Sen. Troy Brown tried to gain support for the reinstatement of tolls on the Sunshine Bridge at the March 9 meeting. Other councilmen mentioned they did not like the idea of using the tolls on the two localbridges because the funding from those tolls would also help cover the cost of the project in other parishes.

The council ultimately took no action on the project.

The St. James Parish Council will reconvene on Wednesday, April 3, at 6:30 p.m. in Convent.