“That has been the primary impact that has been a burden to the Lake Charles market in the last year,” Lemoine says. Lafayette-based LEMOINE specializes in disaster response and restoration work.

Residential areas and infrastructure were particularly hard hit by the storms, especially the aging roadway and bridges of Interstate 10, which will need to be repaired.

“The state is expecting above $500 million through infrastructure act funding, but the hurricane damage impact is assessed at well over $1 billion,” he says.
In addition to funding uncertainty,  supply chain delays and labor availability, the area is confronting inflationary cost increases, Lemoine says. 

However, Lake Charles and Louisiana are recovering from the impacts of active storm seasons as well as the pandemic, he adds. 

“We’re optimistic about the future, but we have to condition that with ‘cautiously’ because of the unknown,” he says.