State Rep. Jacob Braud walked to the end of an access road south of the Naval Air Station in Plaquemines Parish and stepped from smooth asphalt onto a gravel path.

“It’s literally a road to nowhere,” said the Belle Chasse Republican as he surveyed a pile of trash dumped at the dead-end. "Would Texas build a road to nowhere?"

It’s here, about a mile-and-a-half away from the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, where Louisiana spent more than $16 million on an access road for what was supposed to be a new bridge. The span, a dream of locals for decades, would have traversed the man-made canal that divides much of Plaquemines from Jefferson Parish. The road opened in 2014. Then work stopped. The bridge was never built.

Now, there’s new momentum around finishing the job.

Traffic snarls from the con

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