Houma-based T. Baker Smith LLC has been hired to assess the damage with two sinkholes along U.S. Highway 90 in Paradis.
Parish Public Works Director Clayton “Snookie” Faucheux said the sinkholes are from two culverts, and the engineering firm will determine if they can be lined or replaced.
T. Baker Smith was hired for a multi-phase project with a contract authorizing $55,250 in fees.
“We’re not sure exactly what the extent of the damage is,” Faucheux said. “We saw it is very significant. These are large colverts.”
Faucheux advised the Parish Council that the construction price tag on the work “might be a little shocking.”
A parish permit was issued in 1982 to install the culverts so the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development deemed this a parish project, he said
The parish is also investigating a sinkhole in Boutte to determine if it also is a parish project.
But Faucheux warned, “If we start accepting all of this, I can tell you the parish would go broke fast replacing all these colverts on these old state roads.”
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