Ghost of a bad road resurfaces

Until a few weeks ago, St. Mary Road from U.S. 190 to the Perchville Road was about as rough, pot-holed stretch of roadway as a driver can try to steer away from.
Then came the Smooth Ride Home Program and a layer of new asphalt was applied to St. Mary Road turning it into, well, a smooth ride.
However, on Monday a caller reported there were potholes on St. Mary.
Sure enough, there was a linear pothole about two-tenths of mile north of the Perchville Road. Another pothole was developing another five yards up the road.
The ghost of the bad road seemed to be resurfacing.
Bill Fontenot, St. Landry Parish President, said the emerging pothole would be inspected immediately and the contractor be asked to take corrective action.
About 120 miles of road has been paved in St. Landry Parish under the Smooth Ride Home Program, he said.
The St. Mary Road pothole was the first reported on a newly paved Smooth Ride Home road, he said.
“It is not unusual to have one of those on occasion,” Fontenot said.
Fontenot, who retired as the Lafayette district administrator for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development before becoming parish president, is no stranger to the road business.
He speculated the potholes may be occurring because the cold asphalt being applied or the base is faulty.
St. Mary Road was among 20 roads bid in one phase of the 15-year project. Completion of the project can take nine to 12 months, he said.
Until the parish accepts the road, the contractor is responsible to keep it in new condition, he said.
“This is the first one that has been reported to me actually since we have done the work,” Fontenot said. “I’m interested in seeing what the problem is there. Certainly we are interested in getting it repaired ASAP.”
There are other signs the road work is not complete such as shoulders that have not been built and the new pavement stops short of intersections.
Shoulder work will likely be completed within 30 days, he said.
Intersections are the final bit of road work.
“That’s a separate phase they will perform,” he said. “It is a little more meticulous. It takes a few more personnel.”
Rural St. Landry Parish voters approved a 2 percent, 15-year sales tax for road improvement in 2013. Tax collections began in 2014 and roadwork started this year.
Fontenot said 300-plus miles of roads will be improved with a $66 million bond issue. Sales tax revenues are running $1 million to $1.5 million above the annual bond payment up to $5.5 million. The excess is to be used for additional road work, he said.
From 450 to 480 miles out of the parish’s 700 miles of roads may be paved in15 years.
The priority is on connector roads, but as they are completed the work paving crews may be directed to dead end roads and shorter roads.
“I appreciate citizens reporting it,” Fontenot said of the St. Mary Road pothole.
Fontenot asked that the public contact him at 337-280-8982 or the main parish number, 337-948-3688, to report road problems.