On July 20, the Louisiana Airport Authority passed a resolution to extend the term of the Protocol of Intent between the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) and the LAA.
LAA Chairman Glen L. Smith and Alex Papadakis, CCC Infrastructure Programs Executive, signed the Protocol of Intent, which is an agreement to review LAA studies to determine the best course of action for the Louisiana Transportation Center project.
“We will now be moving forward rapidly,” explained Smith. “There remain questions to be answered and issues to be addressed. We should have a go/no go decision before the end of first quarter 2007.”
The initial 1994 Strategic Evaluation evaluated the concept of developing a consolidated LTC between New Orleans and Baton Rouge that would include a new international airport, intermodal rail yard, docking facilities and trucking distribution/transportation network, along with intermodal cargo facilities, manufacturing and distribution development.
A follow-up Risk Analysis Study, funded by the Federal Aviation Administration and completed in 2001 further confirmed the economic feasibility of the LTC as a cargo facility.