ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

The failure of efforts to boost state aid for roads and bridges means key projects statewide will be slowed, Louisiana transportation chief Shawn Wilson said.

The death of the push to raise Louisiana's gasoline tax not only ended the issue for 2017.

Despite charges that it will spawn politically driven road and bridge projects, the Louisiana House gave final approval to a bill aimed at improving voter confidence in transportation spending.

The push to raise the state gas tax died because the Louisiana House has turned into a "toxic mix" that features a "total lack of leadership," a veteran lobbyist told allies in a memo.

A boost in road funding stemming from a possible increase in fuel taxes would help improve the flow of goods along Louisiana’s busy, multi­modal freight corridors, the state’s chief transportation officer said this month on Capitol Hill.

The drive to raise Louisiana’s gasoline tax has suddenly flickered to life, but backers now face the daunting task of rounding up a two-thirds majority in the state House amid anti-tax cries inside and outside the Legislature.

Opening a late session controversy, a House panel May 16 approved a bill that would raise Louisiana's gasoline tax by 17 cents per gallon, increasing state aid for roads and bridges by $510 million annually.

Backers of a state gasoline-tax increase need something of a political miracle, and the first test is set for May 16 in a Louisiana House committee that has been killing tax bills.

Leaders of Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards' task force that recommended a $700 million increase in state aid for roads and bridges stepped up efforts April 27 to win legislative support for improvements.