A ribbon cutting 15 years in the making took place Thursday morning, with parish and state legislators new and old celebrating the completion of the Airport Access Way.

Parish President Larry Richard called the roundabout a huge accomplishment for Iberia Parish and will be crucial for the future development of the Acadiana Regional Report. In conjunction with a future project to extend Hangar Drive to Louisiana 3212, the project gives tractor trailers much easier access to the airport.

“It’s putting us on the map,” Iberia Industrial Development Director Mike Tarantino said. “A company told us this project was critical to their decision making to investing in Iberia Parish.”

Richard said the project has been in the making since 2008 when he was just a councilman on the Iberia Parish Council. Richard said he remembers discussing the project with then-Parish President Ernest Freyou.

“It moved along pretty good but then it stalled,” Richard said. “When I became parish president this is something I wanted to make sure we would accomplish. It’s such a big deal with what we’re planning to do with this airport.”

Richard acknowledged Freyou’s contribution along with former Parish President Romo Romero, who also contributed to making the roundabout happen.

Tax Assessor Taylor Barras, who served as Speaker of the House during crucial years of the project’s formation, said the legislative process to make the project happen was just as painstaking.

“Projects of this magnitude take a great deal of people,” Barras said. “There are many steps along the way, this is important to the parish and the development of the parish.”

State Rep. Beau Beaullieu and State Rep. Blake Miguez also spoke at the event, saying the work done in the past has gone on to make huge improvements to the current state of the parish.

“The seeds Mr. Ernest planted along with Larry and the other council members, future generations will continue to reap the rewards of it,” Beaullieu said.