DENHAM SPRINGS — Livingston Parish President Randy Delatte provided an update on the Burgess Road Bridge reopening in Denham Springs after it was delayed due to contractors refusing to move their equipment. 

According to Delatte, the parish spent months working with the contractor on the project, Guinn Construction, to resolve outstanding issues prior to the bridge's opening.

"We held numerous discussions, worked through change orders, and made every reasonable effort to complete this project without unnecessary conflict, Delatte wrote. "Throughout that process, our goal remained the same: complete the project according to the contract while protecting the interests of the taxpayers of Livingston Parish."

Many residents questioned the parish government's decision to stay with the contractor; however, Delatte revealed it wasn't a choice at all, sharing that Livingston Parish was legally required to follow the terms of the contract, which established the assessment of liquidated damages if the project went beyond its completion date. 

The purpose of the damages is to compensate taxpayers for delays beyond the agreed completion date and to encourage the timely completion of projects.

Delatte revealed that during the building process, the contractor allegedly informed the parish that the bridge would not be opened if liquidated damages were assessed on the project. 

"Again if you have charged any liquidated damages since the last estimate. We are not opening the road," the contractor allegedly wrote. "If any day charges have been charged since the last estimate, the road will not be open tomorrow."

Delatte claimed the completed bridge was being used as a bargaining chip in a contract dispute, with the only remaining work being the installation of permanent pavement striping, final grading and hydroseeding. 

"The Burgess Road Bridge is not my bridge. It is not the contractor's bridge. It is the people's bridge," Delatte wrote.

The parish president also claimed that the contractor intentionally moved equipment into the roadway after he posted about the bridge's opening, saying the contractor refused multiple opportunities to remove the equipment, leading to the involvement of the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office. Deputies later removed the equipment on the morning of the planned opening.

"The people of Livingston Parish pay for these projects through their tax dollars," Delatte wrote. "At the end of the day, the Burgess Road Bridge belongs to the people, not to me, not to a contractor, but to the citizens who paid for it and depend on it every day."