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Still hope for the Teche Ridge?

Environmental concerns plague Evangeline Thruway route
Karl Jeter

Environmental advocates like Harold Schoeffler and Ed Bulliard still want to see the I-49 south connector project moved out of Lafayette.
At the Feb. 16 Parish Council meeting, Schoeffler, representing the Sierra Club’s Acadiana Group, and Bulliard, a retired contractor from St. Martinville, made a pitch for the Teche Ridge route, which they have been supporting since 2002.
Serious concerns involving the badly polluted Southern Pacific rail yard along the Evangeline Thruway in Lafayette and its threats to the Chicot Aquifer have compounded long-standing doubts about the wisdom of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD)’s intended route through Lafayette on the Evangeline Thruway corridor.
The Teche Ridge alternative would follow the ridge from near Carencro and pass west of Breaux Bridge and St. Martinville to join U.S. 90 near Cade.
According to Schoeffler, DOTD and committed parties in Lafayette have understated major environmental problems as well as practical disadvantages to go all-in for the costly elevated-highway project. He said that routing a bypass down the Teche Ridge would cost one-tenth as much, take one-fourth the time and require very few home and business relocations by comparison.
It would also, he said, provide a vastly superior hurricane evacuation route from the vulnerable areas along U.S. 90 compared to the current plan and eliminate most environmental pitfalls in the process.
Among other complications, the Evangeline route would require the east-west runway at Lafayette Regional Airport to be moved to the east, 1,000 ft. into the Cypress Island Swamp onto land owned by the Nature Conservancy, Schoeffler said.
The DOTD lists the elevated project, as currently planned, to be one of its highest priorities for major highway improvements in the state.
In another issue, the council revisited an amendment, tabled in December, to allow a video poker truck stop to reopen at 1898 Mills Ave. New investors are seeking permission to operate an improved establishment at the location, which is less than the required 300 feet from “prohibited property,” a residence. This proximity would restrict the number of poker machines to three under parish statute.
The council will put the matter on the agenda for the March Public Works Committee meeting as a proposal, allowing a vote in April.

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