Motorists realizing savings from Smooth Ride Home

In December, St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz announced the Smooth Ride Home program had saved his office nearly $200,000.
Guidroz told the St. Landry Parish School Board he would use the savings to hire school resource officers at Beau Chene, Northwest and North Central high schools after the first of the year.
St. Landry Parish School Superintendent Edward Brown said the school system itself has realized about $17,600 in savings due to improved road conditions.
Parish President Bill Fontenot said the road program is paying off in ways other than just a pleasant driving surface.
“I tell you what I’ve heard people tell me is that they are using roads now for shorter distances to work, so that is saving them time and fuel money,” he said.
The 15-year program, funded by a 2-cent sales tax collected in unincorporated St. Landry Parish, was passed in 2013 and road work began in 2014.
The sales tax is being used to fund bond sales.
At the December Parish Council meeting, Fontenot said $66 million is available for road work over the next 12 to 13 years. The money will pave about 350 miles. Some 130 miles of road have been paved and 70 to 80 miles will be completed by late spring or early summer, he said. Another 120 miles of road work is planned to begin in the summer of 2016, he said.
Fontenot said the road improvement program has brought positive acclaim to the parish, citing an invitation to testify before a congressional committee in 2014 about the program.
Fontenot said people are using roads they found almost impossible to use before the road work.
“I have had people tell me that own property that they are getting inquiries about their property for potential home sites,” he said. “So, they are pleased they are having that not that they are looking to sell land, but they are considering it.”
Fontenot said the payoff includes, “They don’t have as many alignments or tires being worn out or busted.”
Fontenot pointed to the sheriff’s announcement about his office’s savings.
“He has a patrol which has to patrol all of the roads no matter what the condition. He was wise enough to see that from the beginning,” he said.
Fontenot said Guidroz often accompanied him to meetings to explain the road program before the program was approved.
“The only negative I’ve heard about the good roads is that people tend to speed and they are getting a few tickets and they are not happy,” he said.
A transportation engineer is in the process of studying the parish roads to determine what the speed limits should be, he said.
The speed limit on parish roads without a posted limit is 20 mph.
“We are going to modify that based on professional analysis,” he said.
The tax is collected in unincorporated areas and because of that most people are not impacted when they buy items such as food since many of the parish’s grocery stores are in incorporated areas, he said.
The main effect on rural residents is with purchases such as vehicles and building a house, he said.
Fontenot said people who drove the parish’s bad roads skipped buying new cars because of the wear and tear on them created by pot-holed roads. “I’m hearing that now that they are buying new cars in those areas.”
The road program has not been without problems, he said. With about 200 miles of new pavement there have been some quality issues such as potholes and cracking, he said.
Hairline cracks will likely seal when the weather turns warmer, he said.
As for potholes, they should be not be happening, he said. The presence of potholes on new roads usually points to problems with the asphalt mix, he said.
The asphalt is a similar quality as that used by the state, he said.
Fontenot has said if people see a problem with the new roads they should contact his office at 337-948-3688.