Officials from St. Charles Parish government and the Louisiana Department of Transportation (DOTD) met Thursday, July 27 on Paul Maillard Road in Luling to celebrate the official Phase I groundbreaking of the more than $10 million Paul Maillard Road Revitalization Project.
Members of the St. Charles Parish Council, Parish President Matthew Jewell and DOTD officials were on hand at the event.
Parish officials say Paul Maillard Road currently lacks a shoulder, and in many places drops off into a steep ditch. The Paul Maillard Road Revitalization Project aims to improve safety for local motorists and pedestrians by covering the road’s ditches, add subsurface drainage and install sidewalks.
Once a major thoroughfare on the West Bank, Paul Maillard Road has long been eyed by local officials as a key area in need of revitalization.
“There is an active group of citizens, business owners, and community leaders who have made it their mission to help return Paul Maillard to its former glory,” Samantha de Castro, St. Charles Parish Director of Communications, said.
The project will be broken into three phases. The entire stretch of Paul Maillard Road is expected to be redone at the end of Phase III, with sidewalks to be installed on both sides of the road. The current Phase I component is scheduled to take around 400 days to complete, “however contractors hope to be finished sooner,” de Castro said.
Parish officials advise that during Phase I of the project, traffic between Blueberry Hill and Angus will be limited to northbound travel only.
“Anyone needing to travel southbound through that area should detour north to River Road, then use I-310 or Barton Avenue to Highway 90, then continue to Paul Maillard northbound,” de Castro commented regarding traffic flow.
Initial plans to begin the project began as far back as September 2014, but de Castro said due to inactivity on the project, funding previously secured by The Regional Planning Commission (RPC) was threatened to be pulled. After taking office, Jewell met with the RPC and DOTD officials, requested an extension and was able to buy parish officials enough time to bring the project back to life.
“This project was languishing when I came into office, and through coordination and planning we were able to work with the DOTD and the Regional Planning Commission to get it back on track,” President Matthew Jewell said. “I am excited to see this facelift to the road and safety improvement work begin, and I look forward to the additional phases of this project to follow.”
Given Paul Maillard Road is considered a state route, the DOTD will directly oversee the project’s administration. Funding for the project came from primarily federal sources, with a smaller amount being funded by local tax dollars.
“At the end of the day, this project is 80% Federal dollars, and 20% local dollars, which is a win for St. Charles Parish, because we are taking our local taxes and stretching them more than four times farther,” de Castro said.
For updates on the project as work is completed, visit www.stcharlesparish.gov/paulmaillard
Be the first to comment