Construction on the Hog Branch bridges along Interstate 12 east of Livingston is set to begin by the end of this year, state Rep. Roger Wilder announced in a Facebook post Thursday.
Wilder said the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development made the announcement last week at a breakfast meeting attended by DOTD Secretary Glen Ledet, other DOTD officials, and House members and senators representing the I-12 corridor.
The Hog Branch bridges, located about three miles east of Livingston Exit 22, are the last set of bridges in Livingston Parish that need to be widened for the three-lane expansion of I-12 to continue from Satsuma to Hammond.
Wilder credited the Livingston Parish House Delegation, and Rep. Shane Mack specifically, for the work leading to the announcement.
The breakfast meeting followed a letter Wilder sent to DOTD two months ago, co-signed by 47 House and Senate members, urging action on I-12. Wilder said lawmakers used the meeting to discuss current and future projects along the corridor, parish by parish, including adjacent infrastructure projects aimed at improving capacity and safety.
Wilder said he plans to present House Concurrent Resolution 69 in the House Transportation Committee on Monday morning. The resolution, co-authored by Sen. Bill Wheat, formalizes the asks outlined in the February letter as a legislative request. Wheat has agreed to carry the resolution in the Senate.
