Plan to change Main St. to 3 lanes apparently stalled

A controversial plan to convert the four-lane section of St. Martinville’s North Main Street to two lanes with a center turn lane has been put on hold.
City Councilman Mike Fuselier said Monday that widespread opposition from city officials, local legislators and area residents have apparently derailed the project.
A call to District Engineer Administrator Bill Olivier with the Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) revealed that, while the contract is still active, the project is on hold pending further investigation.
City officials only recently learned “through the grapevine” about the project and felt blindsided. Olivier responded to inquiries with an email advising that work was scheduled to start later this month to change North Main from four to three lanes between the old railroad tracks and Levert St. John.
Citing safety issues, the DOTD is apparently converting many in-town four lane roads in the district, into two outside lanes with a continuous center turn lane. The surprising aspect to city officials was that they were not consulted beforehand and they were not even informed after the decision was made without their input.
The $775,000 contract for the road work had already been awarded to Diamond B Construction.
In a communication to local officials following understandably indignant inquiries, Oliver wrote that the rate of accidents on that four-lane stretch of Main Street is “The worst we have seen to date,” with 80 crashes in the last three years, “and 55 percent of the crashes due to the four lanes.” According to the memo, the reductions in accident rates in other areas following the change have been in the range of 30 to 40 percent.
City officials and others voiced doubt about the accident statistics cited as well as claims of improved safety to be expected from such a change. There are two school zones and soon the new South Louisiana Community College campus along that stretch. With only one lane in each direction, they contend, turning and entering traffic would cause more problems, not less. They also question how well traffic would flow when there are tractors hauling cane carts on the road at 20 mph and no way to pass.
The tone of the initial communication from Oliver seemed intended to make it clear that the decision was final. He wrote that District 2 City Councilman Craig Prosper was the main opponent to the plan when they finally did meet on Aug. 19, but the memo says, “As we told him, we cannot negotiate when we are making changes for safety,” and “Construction is scheduled to begin in three to four weeks.”
Over the weekend, however, the uproar from local residents and officials seems to have had an influence says Fuselier.
“It seems our state legislators were inundated with phone calls,” he reported, and that “preparations for the change will not go forward and that the state is in the process of shelving the plan altogether.”
As of presstime, a public hearing on the issue is still scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 9, at 5:30 p.m. at St. Martinville City Hall.