City-Parish President Joey Durel will convene the first meeting of the I-49 South Task Force at 1:30 p.m. Monday at the Lafayette Economic Development Authority. The task force — chaired by Durel — was formed last year by Gov. Bobby Jindal to determine statewide support for the project and “identify funding sources and/or innovative funding alternatives to fully fund the proposed project to extend Interstate 49 south from the city of Lafayette to the city of New Orleans.” The latter will be a monumental task, given the $5 billion plus price tag and the state's laundry list of other infrastructure needs.
Today’s task force meeting includes a presentation on the history of I-49 by former state Department of Transportation and Development secretary (and current Lafayette Chamber of Commerce Chairman) Kam Movassaghi. The task force also plans to identify goals and establish a schedule for regular meetings.