The city of Broussard recently announced a $2 million rail spur at the Spanish Trail Industrial Park in a move that would benefit the SafeSource Direct plant and could help attract new manufacturing.

The project will feature a rail spur along U.S. 90 to connect the main rail line to the industrial park where SafeSource Direct is located and will be funded mostly by the Louisiana Rural Infrastructure Accelerator Project, a new state initiative aimed to help organizations and companies collaborate more effectively with rural communities while improving navigation of grant processes and identification of funding opportunities.

LARIA's funding comes from a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Build America Bureau and other federal programs. The rail spur project will receive $850,000 from the new state program, Broussard Mayor Ray Bourque said. 

"The rail spur is going to allow the businesses that exist in that industrial park to expand, to move products in a new way along the rail system and it is going to help us attract new business and manufactures to that industrial park," he said. 

SafeSource, the PPE manufacturer that has quickly become a large employer in Lafayette Parish, employs more than 500 people since it broke ground in Broussard just over three years ago. The company is expected to expand with 12 more production lines that would add an additional 697 jobs, according to a report by Louisiana economist Loren Scott. 

Daniel Pepper, SafeSource Direct's vice president, said that the rail spur will allow the company to continue to expand and add more jobs. The increased capacity of rail will allow the company to ramp up production and transition from 100% U.S.-made products to 100% Louisiana-made.

Other projects include a study on the creation of a micro-transit service pilot program in collaboration with One Acadiana and local stakeholders to improve mobility and access to transit services for rural populations for work and school. 

The project is currently in the planning phase. One Acadiana is working toward identifying opportunities to find additional funding, Vice President Andre Breaux said.

Stephen Marcantel writes for The Acadiana Advocate as a Report for America corps member. Email him at stephen.marcantel@theadvocate.com.