By james art Louisiana U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy hosted his final Rural Community Finance Summit of the year Oct. 30 in Gonzales at the Price LeBlanc PACE Center, discussing infrastructure and energy in the Baton Rouge area.
Later in the day, he stopped on the west side of the Mississippi River at Addis and Port Allen.
“We are partnering with mayors and other leaders in the Capital Region to use the bipartisan infrastructure bill to meet the needs of this growing community,” Cassidy said in a news release. “We are already replacing gas lines in Donaldsonville and East Feliciana and reducing the risk of flooding in the Baton Rouge area. This region is moving forward.”
Cassidy pointed out that Iberville Parish received more than $2.54 million and the Village of Morganza more than $1.87 million for natural gas infrastructure upgrades.
Additionally, it was announced last October that the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development would receive $88.3 million for Hwy. Interconnection 415 project to address traffic issues in the area.
He also recalled grant announcements for Livingston Ward 2 and West Feliciana Water District, as well as $30 million in 2023 and 2024 for gas main replacement in the city of Donaldsonville, $33 million for dredging and studies along the Atchafalaya River and multiple bays, $39 million for improvements to the Gulf Coastal Interior Waterway, and $100 million to start a manufacturing plant in St. Gabriel.
“I appreciate Sen. Cassidy coming to Gonzales to make sure communities in Ascension Parish and throughout the region know how we can benefit from his infrastructure bill,” Ryland Percy, Gonzales Mayor Interim, said in the release. “I also appreciate his work to protect the energy industry that keeps people here and throughout the parish. That’s the kind of leadership we need in Washington.”
Cassidy later toured Turner Industries’ modular manufacturing facility in Port Allen, according to the release.