Lawmakers in Louisiana have passed legislation that could force the state to name a new bridge after President Donald Trump.
The state's House Transportation Committee approved House Bill 221 on Tuesday in a 12-2 vote. The bill will now move to the full House for a vote. If adopted, the span would be called the "President Donald J. Trump Expressway."
Republican State Representative Michael Echols said during a March 10 committee hearing he hopes that naming the bridge after the president will capture his attention — and perhaps some federal funding as well.
“Whether you like him or not, you put his name on something, you get his attention. "He likes to build big things. This is a big bridge," he said, according to the Shreveport Times. “This isn’t just symbolic. It’s a logical step in making sure that Louisiana gets the attention it deserves.”
If the lawmakers can secure federal funding for the project they theoretically can reduce the need for tolls after it's built.
The bridge's final location is still up in the air. The state has settled on three possible locations, each of which is close to areas that are experiencing industrial development growth. In each case, the bridge is expected to span the Mississippi River and link Louisiana Highway 1 and Louisiana Highway 30 near Baton Rouge.
“This approach keeps a toll-free crossing, it encourages development, and it spreads cost across the economic expansion that this will generate. And members, when we combine that type of value-add financing with the federal freight infrastructure programs, and there are several, because you don’t just get this through one grant program, you can actually get this done,” Echols said, according to WAFB.
Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Secretary Glenn Ledet said approximately $400 million has already been invested into the bridge project. The total cost is an estimated $3 billion but the state has not yet secured all of the needed funding.
Residents who spoke to local media seemed perplexed by the naming choice.
“Name it after some soldier or somebody that died in battle or something like that, you know? But to just do that, they’re just playing political games," one resident, named Keith Giardina, told WAFB.
Another resident, Bennie Mitchell, told the broadcaster it wasn't "a good time for the USA to name a bridge after him because he's not bridging anything for us anyway."
The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment.
If the name does get approved it won't be the only stretch of road named after Trump.
A portion of Route 287 in Oklahoma is named the President Donald J Trump Highway and there is both a President Donald J Trump Avenue in Hialeah, Florida and a President Donald J Trump Boulevard in Palm Beach County.
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