A lot still needs to happen before the state of Louisiana can replace the 70-year-old, dilapidated Calcasieu River Bridge on Interstate 10 in Lake Charles, and one official says it could take until at least 2024 for the project to break ground. But officials believe they are starting 2020 in a better position to move the project forward.

There’s been an overwhelming demand from the public to replace the bridge, which is nearly two decades past its intended life span. But before the project can enter the procurement phase, state officials must find funding to build the estimated $850 million bridge. They must also complete an environmental impact statement in order to qualify for federal money to build the bridge, which is considered functionally obsolete and structurally deficient.