BATON ROUGE - DOTD Secretary Joe Donahue met with state lawmakers for the final stop of the annual DOTD "Road Show" to discuss highway construction priorities and upcoming projects.

Today's talk focused on some of the big projects impacting the capital region, including the New Mississippi River Bridge.

Iberville Parish President Chris Daigle and City of Gonzales Chief Engineer Jackie Baumann discussed the New Mississippi River Bridge project, which would connect La 30 and La 1, as well as upgrades to La 30 itself.

"La 30 has and always will be Gonzales' number one priority, so we humbly request continued support for La 30 improvements," Baumann said.

Daigle also discussed the project and the need for the bridge.

“Baton Rouge region needs this bridge to happen and delaying it, there needs to be alternative sources on the federal level or whatever those funds need to come from for the widening of 30,” Daigle said. "I was told EBR was working on something that would tie in from where the possible bridge would be going toward EBR, and then we would have to work with Iberville and Ascension to make sure we'd get that done."

Donahue says the project is entering the environmental phase, which will help identify the best location by the end of next year.

The full document regarding the meeting is accessible here.