Large erosion, drainage project wrapping up following 2 On Your Side report
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BATON ROUGE - A busted drainage pipe causing major erosion, sinking sidewalks, and street flooding has been repaired.
Last month, 2 On Your Side reported about the issue in Sherwood Forest and Wednesday learned the project was so big it required repairs in several locations.
Greg Arthur says he is happy to finally see it taken care of. It had been eroding his backyard since at least 2017.
"I feel relieved," he said. "Every rain, the creek would fill up, erode more and more out because that drain pipe was not the way it should have been."
The pipe leading from the street to Jones Creek was broken, cracked and leaking in several places. The hole got so big it was affecting Arthur's neighbor's yard, too. The pipe was also starting to cave-in in front of Arthur's house and under the sidewalk across the street from him.
Since there were so many leaks, it also caused street flooding on Ranchwood Drive. He said people would come out, take a look at the hole and be surprised.
"They said, 'This is terrible, why aren't they getting anything done on it?'"
Arthur wondered the same thing and feared that his yard and home's foundation would become unstable at any moment.
He said the parish had been out several times since the issue was first reported years ago. Each time, Arthur waited for the work to start.
Last month, 2 On Your Side learned the issue was supposed to be repaired in May 2021, but work didn't begin until after WBRZ's story aired last month.
The Grady Crawford crew working on the extensive project is getting closer to the finish line. Arthur is looking forward to getting back to a normal way of living without worrying about losing his yard.
The contractor says everything will be put back together how it was before. The grass will be fixed, new sidewalk will be poured and Arthur's fence will be repaired.