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Livingston Parish tackling nearly 30 miles of road in 2022, other projects wrapping up

2 years 3 months 4 days ago Wednesday, January 19 2022 Jan 19, 2022 January 19, 2022 2:12 PM January 19, 2022 in News
Source: WBRZ

DENHAM SPRINGS - Livingston Parish says it's wrapping up its 2021 priority road list and getting ready to start the 2022 road list that was passed at Parish Council last week.

"We're really excited, we're going to do roughly 30 miles of road," Parish President Layton Ricks said. "We're almost doubling the amount of money we're spending because the sales tax got renewed, the bond money finally got paid off that's been paying on these roads for years."

The parish is pumping $11 to $13.5 million on the 2022 road program. With a new ordinance, that work will be held to a higher standard and hopefully prevent roads from failing so quickly. The roads are being surveyed right now and the parish hopes to send the project out for bid in the next 90 days.

Council members suggest roads that make the list. Engineers then go out and prioritize the road and base it on a number of criteria. That criteria can include location, how the road is failing, the traffic count and businesses nearby.

While the parish gets ready for its new road list, there are still some 2021 projects in the works. One is in Forest Ridge, highlighted in a 2 On Your Side report last week. Another is South Haven, a subdivision with more than 300 homes and counting.

Todd Ray has lived in South Haven for a decade and first contacted 2 On Your Side in 2018 when the parish filled potholes with a gravel material that was meant to be a temporary solution.

"That was... I call it a waste of our tax money, you know?" Ray said.

Four years later, Canterbury Avenue is finally being repaved and should be completed by the end of next week.

"They should be blacktopping, they're hoping to start tomorrow depending on the weather," Ricks said.

Ray is happy to hear it, since the main road in South Haven was first ripped up in October last year. He says work has been moving slowly and people have been waiting to get their road back.

"It means that the community can get back to normal, the kids can get back out and ride their bikes," he said. "We have a lot of runners out here too that are not able to do their daily activities."

With Cantebury Avenue wrapping up, Ray is focusing on what's next for his neighborhood.

"All the roads need to be done at some point and if we have to wait we have to wait," Ray said.

Livingston Parish says it plans to get to a couple other sections in South Haven later this year.

You can the full list of road projects below or by clicking here.

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