When B&B Tackle moved from Marrero to Belle Chasse seven years ago, it seemed like the perfect business move. The new storefront at LA 23 was a quick stop for customers on the way to lower the Parish of Plaquemins and its world-famous fishing waters.
The New Bellchasse Bridge was subsequently constructed on the Gulf Inner Waterway. The $170 million project began in April 2021, and for the next few years intermittent road closures caused traffic nightmares. This crowding was exacerbated by the crushing of workers trying to put the Port Sulfur Global Plaquemins LNG plant into its venture.
“It’s been hard for everyone to come and get things on schedule,” said Austin Plysance, 33, owner of B&B Tackle. “There are days when there are few customers.”
On Monday, after an 11-month delay, the Bellchusse Bridge finally opened, allowing traffic to flow more smoothly. But the Bell Chasse business owner hasn’t vomited yet.
Drivers will soon have to make sacrifices to cross the bridge, and business owners are worried about what this means to their customers.
“I’m just nervous that I’m not going to take people to that side of the bridge where I want to shop with me for the victims,” Places said.
Drivers said traffic was fully open at 5am on Monday, March 17, 2025, and traffic was fully open 11 months later than originally expected. (Staff photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune)
The bridge was originally scheduled to open in April last year, but was behind the overall infrastructure Belle Chasse, which is the developer. We found that higher than expected subsidence sinks the structure and that slabs that provide a smooth transition from the road provide the slabs needed to replace them.
Plernary is fined $10,000 a day as a result of not fully opening the bridge to traffic on time. Those fines were expected to reach $3.5 million by the end of March, Joe Donohue of the Transportation Development Bureau told lawmakers in December.
First public-private partnership
The four-lane bridge replaced the vertical lift bridge built in 1967 and the tunnel opened in 1955. Before the new bridge was built, the driver used two southbound lanes for the tunnel and two northbound lanes, an old bridge.
The new bridge is Louisiana’s first public-private partnership for major infrastructure projects, supported by approximately $100 million in federal funds, much of the rest is covered by plenary.
When the project was approved by the state legislature in 2019, supporters argued that rejecting the proposal undermined the possibility of public-private partnerships elsewhere in Louisiana, including funding for a new bridge across the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge.
Drivers said traffic was fully open at 5am on Monday, March 17, 2025, and traffic was fully open 11 months later than originally expected. (Staff photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune)
Still, the project faced pushbacks from residents and business owners of Plaquemines Parish due to tolls.
“It will absolutely hurt business. Why do you make sacrifices to clean your teeth, cut your hair, shop, eat, do it in Gretna, anything you can do,” former President of Plaquemins, Lieutenant Colonel Billy Nungesser said last week.
Dale Adams, owner of Adams Catfish House, said his business has dropped by about 70% thanks to traffic congestion. He said he saved money to help cushion financial resources during construction, but didn’t expect an 11-month delay.
Adams suggests that Money DOTD is fined the entire gen for the delay and was redirected to help Belchesse businesses and residents. “You’re punishing them, but we’re the ones who are the brunt of it,” he said.
The Joint Legislative Committee on Transportation has the ultimate decision on how money will be spent under new laws sponsored by state legislator Jacob Browd, R. Bell Chasse.
For now, Plaisance has pushed it where he is and surpassed his fingers that his business wouldn’t hit any more.
“If that goes down, it’s trying to pull me down,” he said.
Price
Overall forecasts included in the 2023 audit from Louisiana Legislative Auditors show that over the course of the 30-year contract, Plenary was able to raise about $630 million at the low end or $726 million at the high end.
The toll has not been charged yet, but it is likely to start next week or two after the DOTD test is completed, said project spokesman Abbe Ginn.
Drivers said traffic was fully open at 5am on Monday, March 17, 2025, and traffic was fully open 11 months later than originally expected. (Staff photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune)
Most vehicles cost 25 cents for Plakemin residents, $1.13 for non-Geauxpass residents and $2.26 for everyone without Geauxpass. Costs are higher for those who pull trailers, trucks and vans. While the casualties of Plaquemines residents can only increase by one cent a year, plenary can increase most tolls each year based on the consumer price index.
“Tolls are collected in each direction by electronic toll systems where vehicles do not need to be stopped,” DOTD wrote in a press release. “Residents and commuters are encouraged to get Geauxpass, which offers lower fees and ease of payment.”
Town Hall
There are three open houses that will help you sign up for Geauxpass at Belchas Auditorium, 8398 LA 23, Belchasse, LA 70037.
March 24th: 12pm to 6pm 26: 9am to 3:27pm: 9am to 3:00pm
