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State points to problem downstream for drainage issues near Perkins Road shopping area

10 months 2 weeks 5 days ago Tuesday, February 06 2024 Feb 6, 2024 February 06, 2024 3:42 PM February 06, 2024 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - One man says he's got a serious flooding issue on his hands and is trying to get help from the state to fix the problem.

When it rains, Timothy Mayeaux watches in frustration as the water pools in the front of his house. He claims to know what the trouble is but can't get anyone with the state to take his concerns seriously.

"Time is of the essence," Mayeaux said.

For the past 40 years, Mayeaux has lived on Greenwood Drive in Baton Rouge. It's an area tucked between Perkins Road and the interstate among restaurants and shopping. While he's been invested in the area for decades, Mayeaux will tell you his biggest headache is flooding and the lack of drainage. Over the years he says the shop behind his house has flooded 17 times.

While his troubles continue, he says the crux of them is a drainage spot behind Parrain's Restaurant between the interstate on-ramp and the KCS Railroad. Mayeaux toured the area with 2 On Your Side Monday morning and complained about all the sediment that's filled up a drainage culvert to the point that it's collected standing water.

"Half of it is full of muck," Mayeaux said.

The area behind Parrain's Restaurant is a large collection spot for stormwater in the area. For years, Mayeaux says he reached out to the City-Parish for help but about a year ago discovered that DOTD looks after the drainage in that spot.

"Nothing's been done," he said.

DOTD says it has cleaned out it's structures in the area at least twice. The state has discovered an area that's causing backup downstream. It's been working to contact that property owner to get that right of way improved.

It's been a long wait for Mayeaux who is searching for relief.

"I want to see something, I want to see anything because all I've seen is nothing," he said.

DOTD says that, under the law, it cannot do work in someone else's right of way. The state will continue to work to make contact with the other property owners so improvements can be made. The state says the I-10 widening project will change drainage in this area.

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