Loop Across Central

CENTRAL — While opponents of the Baton Rouge Loop think the project is dead, supporters like Mayor-President Kip Holden say it is very much alive and on schedule.  The public doesn’t realize that the Capital Area Expressway Authority has all the legal power it needs to build the Loop right now.  It already has the power of expropriation and the legal authority to construct and operate a massive toll road.

What the Baton Rouge Loop needs is 1) approval from the Federal Highway Administration and 2) the money to move forward with the project.

The consultants, engineers, and contractors pushing the Loop hope to get the money from the Obama Administration in the form of federal funds and from a “private” partner, namely government-owned banks in Communist China, for partial private funding of the project.

Once the Capital Area Expressway Authority gets Federal Highway Administration approval, it could begin getting the money if Congress approved additional stimulus money or if members of Louisiana’s Congressional delegation found other available funds.

No further approval from state or local government is required for the Baton Rouge Loop to be built.

As the accounting firm of Postlewaite & Netterville said in their recent audit of the Loop, the Capital Area Expressway Authority is “a special purpose government, independent of state and local governments.”

The Loop is scheduled for a series of “public hearings” next week.  However, they are not actual public hearings.  There is no assembly or any opportunity to make statements or ask questions in a public meeting on the record.  Instead, what is being offered is an “open house” with a “continuous presentation” wherein citizens can wander around a group of maps and display tables and ask questions one-on-one to staff members standing nearby.

The Central City Council will hold a Public Hearing and listen to comments from the public at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 13 at Kristenwood when the Council considers a resolution opposing the Loop by Councilman Wayne Messina.