With a key public hearing set for May 27, momentum is mounting behind the Port of New Orleans’ proposed Louisiana International Terminal in Violet, Waterways Journal reports.
Gov. Jeff Landry is stepping up state-level support for the project. He recently sent a letter to the executive committee of GNO Inc., formally requesting that President and CEO Michael Hecht lead coordination efforts for LIT—calling it a project “essential to the future of trade in Louisiana.”
The governor’s backing marks a departure from his previously neutral stance between the Violet proposal and a competing terminal project in Plaquemines Parish. “The successful execution of LIT is essential to the future of trade in Louisiana, the very reason we were founded,” Landry wrote in his April 29 letter.
The show of support comes just days ahead of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hearing scheduled for May 27 at the Val Reiss Recreation Complex in Chalmette. The Corps is expected to rule this summer on whether to issue a permit for the project.
The Port of New Orleans and state officials have sought to address local concerns—particularly around truck traffic—by advancing plans for an elevated bypass road connecting the terminal directly to I-10.
