Unfinished road means headaches in Jeanerette

Published 2:00 pm Thursday, March 10, 2016

If the street you live on turns into an almost impassable quagmire with every heavy rainfall, perhaps you, too, would be as upset as some residents in Jeanerette.

Residents and other motorists who must travel on Canal Street are disgusted that it is taking so long to finish an extensive road improvement project that has been ongoing for too, too long. They were told in December it would be finished in February.

At the time, they were frustrated but hopeful when assured the work would be done in almost three months. They were even more frustrated and perhaps a bit hot under the collar when they attended a town hall meeting Tuesday with the state Department of Transportation and Development and representatives from the company doing the work, Gilchrist Construction.

They were told the repairs could take a few more months, even with favorable weather conditions facing the road crew.

“We really need 10 days of good weather (to get a solid push on the project). If we don’t have that it could get ugly,” DOTD project engineer for St. Mary Parish Frank DeBlanc said about what is necessary to complete a key stage in the work — cutting cement (using a saw to cut the top of the concrete) on Martin Luther King Drive to the railroad tracks.

“Once we get that cement cut, y’all are really going to see things move along,” said Gilchrist Construction’s William Castille, the company’s project engineer. “If we get good weather, we can probably have people driving on the thing in three months.”

That’s a big if for residents and city officials who are running out of patience.

One of them is St. Mary Parish Councilman Craig Mathews, who spoke up and told the DOTD and Gilchrist Construction reps he was one of the people who stood in the middle of Canal Street with mud up to his knees on Christmas Eve. Mathews said he and the concerned residents were told that as rain would fall, sediment would be put on the surface for ease of passage for those who lived along the road.

That didn’t happen, the parish councilman said.

Jeanerette Alderwoman Tia Simmons joined those on the offensive. She said other state projects were completed in the vicinity while Canal Street work languished on and on “added salt to the wound.” Simmons said construction workers were at it at night and on weekends on the other projects and spoke for the residents when she asked why the same hasn’t happened on Canal Street.

That ripped up road is in bad shape, some of the people said during the meeting, so much so that it has taken a toll on vehicles they drive.

There were other problems, such as broken promises, and woes discussed but the bottom line was completion time. And no firm date was forthcoming.

Mother Nature sure hasn’t been smiling on Jeanerette, the crowd was told. That’s little consolation for those who have been slip-sliding away on a muddy road that rattles each and every motorist and vehicle.

DON SHOOPMAN

SENIOR NEWS EDITOR