The Port of New Orleans (NOLA) is getting $230.5 million from the Louisiana state legislature to fund a series of new infrastructure projects.
The funds were approved as part of the legislature’s 2024 session, and will primarily go toward the port’s yet-to-be-built Louisiana International Terminal (LIT) and neighboring St. Bernard Transportation Corridor. The transportation corridor will get $50 million in construction funds, as part of a project to connect the LIT to the interstate system. The LIT will also get $150 million for design and construction, while the remaining $30.5 million will go toward maintenance for the St. Claude Bridge upriver from the port.
“These critical infrastructure projects will solidify Louisiana’s position as the premier global gateway in the Gulf, ensure thousands of jobs as well as long-term economic growth for the region and state,” Port NOLA acting president and CEO Ronald Wendel, Jr. said.
The LIT — which is still in the federal permitting process — is expected to open in 2028, and will accept as many as 280,000 containers each year. It will be built downriver from New Orleans in Violet, Louisiana, with a total of $1.8 billion in funding commitments combined across the port, the state legislature, terminal operators, and the federal government. The port says the LIT is currently the largest public economic development project in the entire state.
