The People’s Tribune

Majority of Georgia Street Possibly Completed Mid Next Week

by Brice Chandler – Staff Writer

Louisiana’s Georgia street project has become a sore subject for many of the residents and businesses in the city. The project began in 2018 and has drawn the ire of many as it’s lingered on. 

The city faced setbacks starting with high bids and contractor errors. Eventually the project was re-bid to Mick Mehler and Sons Inc. and Martin Construction Inc. City workers also tackled a large portion of the project which some residents questioned. Mayor Marvin Brown and City Administrator Kelly Henderson have both defended that decision. 

Although the choice to use city workers slowed progress, the project is finally nearing completion. 

According to Henderson, a large portion of the work on Georgia Street could be finished by the end of the week. 

“If all goes according to plan,” Henderson told the Tribune. “7th thru 23rd should be paved and opened by the end of next week or the first of the following week.” 

If that happened, Georgia Street could open except for some short, one-lane closures as crews finish work on sidewalks and cleanup. 

Unfortunately, businesses from 7th to 4th streets will still have to contend with ongoing work. Louisiana Mayor Marvin Brown and Henderson have previously stated they expect that portion of the project to finish next spring.  

During the Sept meeting, the Louisiana city council approved a motion to change the order of additional streets that were also approved for repairs as part of the Georgia Street Corridor plan.  

“The plan was to always allow at least some amount to work on other streets,” Mayor Brown clarified. “Additional dollars will be coming from where we have made some cuts from other locations in the City’s general budget in order to place a higher priority on street repairs.” 

With the change, sections of North Carolina, South Carolina, Peacock, Murray, and E Streets along with Haley Ave and Kelly Lane will get some much-needed repairs. 

The motion passed for an amount up to $250,000. 

“$250,000 is an “up to” amount that we won’t be able to completely pin down until we’re further along,” Mayor Brown added. 

“What most of this calls for is a leveling and overlay on top of it because it’s so rough. Most everything is getting a one-inch leveling and an inch and half overlay,” Henderson answered when asked what the additional work would include. 

The council also questioned the state of Tennessee street between 4 and 6 streets where the road bridges the city branch. 

“It needs more than just paving,” Councilperson Epperson noted. 

“We may have to overlay it just so it can be traveled,” Kelly added as they discussed the condition of the Tennessee Street bridge. “It’s going to get so bad; you won’t be able to travel it.” 

Henderson explained part of the problem was the skewed direction of the original bridging. 

“I think it’s going to have to be completely redone,” Councilperson Ringhausen stated. “It’s beyond just patching. Maybe put something over to get it through the winter.” Ringhausen emphasized that further roadwork would be necessary in the spring. 

“If you want to redirect some of the work on say Murray Street and overlay [Tennessee], then let’s do it,” Kelly answered the council. 

“As long as we don’t have to tear it up later to fix the issue,” Epperson added. “We would be wasting that money and time.” 

“So, again, this is all the money we can pull to do what streets we can,” Kelly added after the council talked of other streets also needing repairs. Henderson told the council the selected streets had the best chance of not needing to be dug up later due to any failing structure underneath. His selection was based on the current state of the streets, traffic, and underlying infrastructure. 

Residents can expect milling and overlaying on Georgia Street to begin this week.
More information will be provided as the story develops.

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