A hearing will be held at the parish courthouse March 27 from 4:30 to 8:30 p. m. with additional hearings at the Alario Center in Westwego on March 22 from 4 to 8 p. m. and at the Knights of Columbus Home at 115 Buford St. in Raceland March 29 from 4 to 8 p. m.
State officials have joined federal officials in favoring the route which would take the highway across Bayou Des Allemands south of populated areas in Paradis and then across U. S. 90 just west of the intersection with I-310 and then along the north side of U. S. 90 to the intersection with Lakewood Drive. It would then cross to the south side of the highway and continue on into Jefferson Parish with the present U. S. 90 as a service road. The state also would prefer I-49 to be elevated through its entire route in the parish.
That is against the wishes of many people in St. Charles Parish who want the interstate to pass south of all populated areas on the west bank, just as I-10 passes north of populated areas on the east bank of the river. But the feds say that would impose on wildlife and destroy the environment. It does not seem to have done that along Lake Pontchartrain on the east bank or in the Atchafalaya Spillway where I-10 passes in central Louisiana. In fact, it gives drivers an opportunity to see and appreciate the grandeur of Louisiana’s magnificent wetlands.
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