Paris Road bridge in New Orleans East to get $42M in repairs under federal infrastructure law

The Paris Road Bridge that connects New Orleans East to St. Bernard Parish will get a $41.6 million facelift under President Biden's $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan, U.S. Rep. Troy Carter said Wednesday. 

The bridge, often called the "Green Bridge" for the many years it was painted green, will be cleaned, structurally repaired, and painted green once again, said Carter, D-New Orleans, at a press conference to announce the project. 

The repairs are under design, and the project will to go to bid in April. It is just one of the many bridges, roads, and highways that are being funded under Louisiana's $7 billion share of the infrastructure law. 

"The East deserves investment, and I'm determined to see that it gets here," Carter said during a press conference Wednesday kicking off a district tour of sites in line for funding. "Thanks to the infrastructure law, we can start with the Green Bridge."

Biden signed into law last month the nation's largest investment in its infrastructure in more than a decade, money aimed at repairing shoddy roads and bridges, modernizing public transit, and updating ports, airports and railways, among other priorities. 

Biden then tapped former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu to oversee that plan's implementation, a move widely seen as a win for Louisiana and New Orleans. 

In Louisiana, $4.8 billion of the money will go to highways. Another $1 billion will go to bridges, and another $470 million will help improve public transit, state officials have said.

Airports will receive $179 million; the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport in Kenner will get over $15 million of that total, Carter said. Another $73 million will be used to build infrastructure for electric vehicles, while $20 million will help build more climate-ready transportation systems. 

The so-called Green Bridge, which stretches over the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet to connect Chalmette to New Orleans East, is an important evacuation route during hurricanes, Carter said. 

Its repair is also critical given its proximity to major job anchors like the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility, the U.S. Coast Guard base, and GE and Blade Dynamics, added City Council President Helena Moreno, who joined Carter Wednesday.

"Infrastructure is a vital component to creating a region — including New Orleans East — with a thriving economy and an excellent quality of life where everyone can get ahead," Moreno said. 

Carter said the bridge is his first stop on his tour that will see him announce various infrastructure investments across the 2nd Congressional District, which covers almost all of New Orleans and stretches north and west along the Mississippi River to Baton Rouge. 

His next stop is Thursday in Grammercy, where he will announce tens of millions of dollars in repairs for the Veterans Memorial Bridge, he said.