Photograph: Wayne Doucet; Mitch Wyble, engineer; Jessie Bellard, St. Landry Parish President; Wayne Ardoin, Parish Council Member; John Auzenne, engineer. (Photograph by Bobby Ardoin.)
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor – Contributing Writer
A combination of drainage district and parish government funding is being used to fund soil infrastructure improvement projects in separate areas of rural St. Landry Parish, according to council member Wayne Ardoin.
Ardoin, who represents Parish Council Election District 9, recently appeared at the two construction sites with South St. Landry Drainage District representatives, drainage district engineers and parish president Jessie Bellard.
A recently completed $11,600 project on Tillou Andrus Lane inside the East Linwood area is assisting with erosion problems where the roadway crosses a narrow subdivision drainage tributary, according to Ardoin.
An area of ground adjacent to the road had begun to descend into the tributary before drainage district and parish government revenues were obtained to haul several loads of large limestone rock to fortify the areas on each side of Tillou Andrus, said Ardoin.
A different project at the intersection of Flagg Stadion Road and Hunt Lane south fo Guilbeau Road is underway in order to improve water drainage distribution, Ardoin said.
Last week work started on the $5,400 project that will deepen a drainage ditch that runs underneath Flagg Station Road and parallels Hunt Lane, Ardoin pointed out.
“What we plan to do with the project is to deepen and widen the ditch so the water will run more easily into Bayou Sylvan. We want to have the water move better and help reduce any flooding,” said Ardoin.
Ardoin said the projects were completed with help of South Drainage Board engineers John Auzenne and Mitch Wyble.
The engineer in charge of the overall project was Kenneth Boagni III, Ardoin said.
Bellard added that the partial parish government assistance was provided in order to help with the two projects.
“It sometimes looks like all we do is fuss and fight among ourselves, but when it’s needed, council members and parish government come together to complete necessary projects like these,” Bellard said.
