2006 Louisiana Forecast

Katrina, Rita wipe out 11 years of growth; construction to grow
Though the national economy was slowing somewhat, Louisiana's top economic forecasters were expecting the state to operate in a "recession-free environment" and predicted job growth in all of the state's major metro areas except Monroe.

Population shift

Multi-residential construction to accommodate migration
Louisiana has a long road of recovery ahead of it in the wake of two devastating hurricanes in 2005, but all the news for the state is not necessarily bad.

DOTD's bold new future

Funding questions raised after Katrina, Rita
The state Dept. of Transportation and Development and its industry partners started this fiscal year with an aggressive statewide construction program and a pumped-up TIMED program. These projects combined to give us planned lettings of approximately $1.3 billion, a figure that represents more than DOTD's entire 2003 budget, including construction.

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