A bicyclist is dead after a crash on Evangeline Thruway near I-10 this morning.
The victim's name has not been released and this crash remains under investigation. The crash is bringing back up a conversation around an issue some say should have been resolved years ago.
"Where is the creativity, where is the ingenuity to save lives, that's my biggest thing," former councilman Kenneth Boudreaux said.
We took a closer look at crashes and found out since this time last year, KATC has reported that six people have been hit and killed in that area.
Boudreaux says for years he has asked for a pedestrian overpass to be built over the Thruway. The former councilman tells KATC when he was in office, funds were passed to conduct a study for a possible walkway, but those funds were never used.
Now, Lafayette Mayor-President Josh Guillory says there is no plan in place.
"It is not out of the picture, not out of conversation, but there's a lot of pedestrian cross bridges we're building over the river we're looking into over the next few years," Guillory stated.
"They have all of the tools to study, to design, and to build an answer," added Boudreaux.
Since 2016, LCG has been working on the Evangeline Corridor Initiative, a plan to make a portion of the Thruway into an interstate. A committee is continuing to work on more than 40 projects, making changes to the Thruway.
"It's a four year plan that's going to beautify not only the north side of Lafayette," Guillory explained. "But also our gateways, help with our coteries, and clean up Lafayette."
In that plan, there's still no sign of a pedestrian bridge.
"A pedestrian overpass would help that connecting I-49, connecting I-49 with a pedestrian overpass is enticing in my opinion. I feel like we're going to get there, but the main thing we have to do is, let's be aware" Guillory said.
The Mayor-President says we should start to see some construction on Thruway after November 1. To find out more, click here.
