A proposed new Mississippi River Bridge in Baton Rouge could be named after President Donald Trump.
The Louisiana House Transportation Committee has approved legislation by Monroe Republican Rep. Michael Echols to name the new bridge the "President Donald J. Trump Expressway."
Echols says naming the bridge after the president could result in securing the needed $3 billion in federal funding for construction.
“We now have a president in the Oval Office that is an action president. And for us to take this from theory to reality, we have to get the man that helps make the decision, and controls the purse strings, to be a part of that reality,” Echols explained.
The bill passed on a 12-2 vote.
Echols is also in the running to replace Republican Julia Letlow in Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District.
Shreveport Democrat Joy Walters voted against the legislation. Walters suggested that naming the bridge after the current president should be an idea coming from Louisiana’s Congressional delegation. She also asked Echols if he was trying to score political points for his Congressional campaign.
Walters: “You’re not hoping to pass this legislation with the intent that then you will be endorsed.”
Echols: “Oh no, no, he’s already endorsed somebody else. I’m not worried about that. I just want to get his attention.”
State transportation officials are looking to build a bridge south of the current I-10 bridge, connecting LA Highway 1 in Iberville Parish to LA Highway 30 in Ascension Parish to reduce congestion in the capital city.
Denham Springs Republican Representative Kellee Dickerson says the alternative would draw the ire of drivers everywhere.
“A toll bridge. Oh my gosh. To think of another toll bridge is like nails on a chalk board,” Dickerson said.
Tolls will be used to pay for a portion of the new I-10 Lake Charles bridge.
Echols' measure heads to the House floor for more consideration.