Martinez foresees toll road working

• By JOHN MCMILLAN
• Advocate River parishes bureau
• Published: Mar 12, 2008 - Page: 1B - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

• Print
• Email
• Save
• Share

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Facebook
• Reddit
• 

GONZALES — Last week, Ascension Parish President Tommy Martinez doubted the chances of a highway loop being built around Baton Rouge, but that was before he attended two days of briefings on toll roads in Texas.

Martinez, who served as a legislative liaison with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development as well as executive director of DOTD’s Louisiana Offshore Oil Port before he took office in January, accompanied the leaders of three other Louisiana parishes on a trip to Dallas and Austin on Thursday and Friday.

The purpose was to meet with state transportation officials and to visit Texas toll road projects.

“The only way you can realize the effect of toll roads is to see how well they work,” Martinez said Tuesday. “There is so much good that comes out of them.

“The main reason we’re looking at them is to alleviate traffic, but economic development will be enhanced,” he said.

Texas officials were amazed that sizable numbers of Louisiana residents appear reluctant for the proposed $4 billion Baton Rouge Loop to go through their land, Martinez said. In Texas, officials said, cities and counties donated rights of way because of the potential economic development.

The 90- to 100-mile Baton Rouge Loop project, as proposed, would take eight to 10 years to build. Proponents say the loop is needed to reduce congestion on Interstates 10 and 12 through East Baton Rouge and adjacent parishes, while opening potential new areas to economic and residential development.

Other leaders on the trip to Texas with Martinez were Kip Holden, mayor-president of East Baton Rouge Parish; Mike Grimmer, Livingston Parish president; and Riley “Peewee” Berthelot, West Baton Rouge Parish president.

Martinez said he believes the first phase of a loop could be built in five to 10 years if private developers construct a toll road.

“If we wait on the state and federal government to fund it … well, we’ve been waiting. I don’t believe they would do it if we waited 50 years,” he said.

Martinez said the construction of a toll road would not dictate that people had to take it. There would be adjacent roads available, he said, even though the toll road would save time and money.

“I think it’s just about logistics at this point,” Martinez said. “We just need to find an acceptable route. We want a route that will have minimal effect and still do the job of moving traffic.

“If we come up with a good route, the road will pay for itself,” Martinez said.