BATON ROUGE - The wheels are turning on an idea to build a new major route through the gulf south, but officials at the Baton Rouge branch of LaDOTD are skeptical it will come to fruition any time soon. 

The proposed Interstate 14, also known as "America's Fort to Ports Strategic Corridor," would link several military installations with key ports from west Texas to east Georgia. In Louisiana, the thoroughfare would theoretically run across Leesville and Pineville. 

The federal government got the ball rolling on the $7 billion idea with the signing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in 2021. However, the plans for I-14 are not funded. Local and state governments would be faced with the task of determining locations and building a budget while the interstate is constructed in increments. 

Rodney Mallett, a spokesperson for LaDOTD in Baton Rouge, says the project is far from becoming a reality without funding. Currently, Mallett says the state has a backlog of projects worth more than $18 billion, and maintaining the infrastructure that already exists is the top priority at the moment. 

"We're focusing on our existing infrastructure as much as possible and we're also moving forward with the new bridge here in Baton Rouge and the much-needed bridge in Calcasieu Parish," Mallett said. 

You can find more about the proposal and history of I-14 here.