Highway To Link St. Tammany Parish to Bogalusa Will Be Funded

Talk of a highway being built to connect St. Tammany Parish to Bogalusa has been discussed for years. The four-lane road has been on Louisiana's state project list for over thirty years. Finally, funding has come through for the project.

"My age group thought the older people were crazy," Bogalusa Mayor Wendy Perrette, who is 45, said. "They were holding on to a hope we didn't ever see coming."

"A lot of people weren't even born when we started talking about this," Washington Parish Sen. Beth Mizell said.

The highway named La. 3241 will be funded by money from Louisiana's 4-cents-a-gallon gasoline tax. The highway which will run through St. Tammany, from Bush to I-12, will be a "vital artery for Bogalusa. The $240 million project will run from the junction of La. 40 and La. 41 in Bush south through the central part of St. Tammany Parish to connect
with I-12 and will be completed by the end of 2024.

Many sections throughout the area will benefit such as the paper mill in Bogalusa and the economic development of St. Tammany Parish. The new highway will not only allow easier access to these areas but will also create jobs. It will improve St. Tammany businesses' logistics, distribution and transportation.

This project comes at a great time for the city of Bogalusa which is starting to see growth in retirees and young families who are looking for lower housing costs.

"A young family can live here for a little bit of nothing," Perrette said of the area. "Property taxes are low, it's affordable. It's beneficial even if you had to commute."

Click Here For the Source of the Information.

Madisonville Town Council Looks at Allowing Golf Carts Permission To Use Town Streets

 

The Madisonville Town Council wants to discuss allowing golf carts and other low-speed vehicles to cross La. 22 where it runs through Madisonville. Louisiana Transportation Department gave a third ruling that will not allow golf carts or other low-speed vehicles to cross La.22.

Town attorney Bruce Danner introduced the letter that was signed by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Deputy General Counsel Jason Bruzik at the council's May 12, 2021 meeting. The letter does confirm that the District 62 office located in Hammond ruled not to allow golf carts or low-speed vehicles to cross the highway for safety reasons.

The federal and state law defines low-speed vehicles as four-wheeled motor vehicles that have a top speed of 20 to 25 miles per hour. Danner will research whether this is official without a public hearing and comment period. If he finds the public is allowed a hearing, it will then go back up for discussion.

In other council news, an agreement to assign leasing rights for the next 50 years to a disclosed company to Madisonville's cell tower was also discussed. Danner was assigned to come up with the agreement that will in turn give Madisonville a lump sum payment of around $701,000 from the disclosed company. This is good news for the town since the tower brings in around $38,000 a year in revenue.

The majority of the council agreed to the lump sum over an annual payment for 50 years. They want to take the lump sum and turn it into grant matching funds to further help with capital improvement projects. Danner believes this is a good idea given that there is some uncertainty in a stream of revenue would continue at the level it is currently generating. Corporate consolidations and technological changes that are taking place in the cellular industry.

Click Here For the Source of the Information.