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Residents upset with slow repairs to Alligator Bayou Road

7 years 5 months 1 week ago Sunday, October 16 2016 Oct 16, 2016 October 16, 2016 10:29 PM October 16, 2016 in News
Source: WBRZ

IBERVILLE PARISH - Jody Braud has been living off Alligator Bayou Road for 20-years. And for those 20 years, he has kept a record of all the major floods with marks on a tree on his property.

When heavy rains brought historic flooding to South Louisiana in August, Braud’s home did not flood, but the road to his home was closed.

Even after the storm had passed, crews continued to battle high backwater flooding. Crews cut two sections out of the Alligator Bayou Road to relieve the flooding in the Spanish Town area.

The cuts allowed the water to drain from Alligator Bayou into Bayou Manchac, but the road has been closed since.

“To me, it means an extra hour and a half commute every day back and forth to work,” Braud said. “It’s an hour to go to the grocery store, an hour to do anything.”

The closed road is also a problem for Braud’s neighbor Jaime Witmer.

“Most of these people tend to shop in Ascension Parish and Prairieville area,” Witmer said. “It takes 40 to 45 minutes to get anywhere.”

But residents say their biggest problem is not knowing when Alligator Bayou Road will re-open to traffic again. Officials told Braud that it would take until 2017 for crews to repair the road. He says that’s horrible.

“Public officials work for us,” Witmer said. “They should keep us informed of what’s going on and worry about our needs. This is a strong need for the people.”

Crews have already repaired one of the cuts to the road. But until the other section is also repaired, blockades and road closed signs will remain on Alligator Bayou Road.

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