The Times-Picayune reports, “The Jefferson Parish Council unanimously gave its approval Wednesday (Jan. 11) to allow the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway to borrow up to $133 million to pay for safety improvements on the 26-mile bridge. A toll increase set to go into effect in May will be used to pay off the debt.” The newspaper adds, “Jefferson’s approval clears the last hurdle for the commission to seek bond approval from the state for the project.”
The New Orleans Advocate reports that the toll increase approved last August and effective in spring 2017 will raise the cash toll from $3.00 to $5.00 The rate for discount toll tag users will increase from $2.00 to $3.00.
The Times-Picayune also looks at the construction of the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, the “physical link between communities on the north and south shores,” as part of its New Orleans Tricentennial series.