Some drivers in St. Martin Parish are demanding repairs to the Henderson Levee Road. Part of that road has been closed since last July after a portion of it collapsed.
However, Parish and State officials are disagreeing on who should pay for repairs.
"People are getting frustrated of course," Mayor Sherbin Collett said.
That frustration was evident while KATC spoke with Collette about the Henderson Levee Road.
"When y’all going to fix the road?!It’s been months," one motorist stated while driving by. "I mean it’s bull***. They need to fix this, it’s dangerous!"
Colette understands that frustration.
"The pave is still cracking," Colette said. "It’s still getting worse. The people are passing on a one lane away from it, but it’s still getting worse. "
He added, "This is actually a hurricane evacuation route. We need this done before hurricane season. This could be detrimental to the area and the people that live here."
DOTD took over the road in 19-94 and resurfaced it in 2015. However, DOTD says right now their hands are tied.
Bill Oliver with DOTD said, "The levee has to be repaired for us to be able to put our roadway back in. The roadway is damaged, but by the levee failure."
Oliver explained that the levee falls outside of DOTD’s jurisdiction.
"We have to see how we can do that in conjunction with the owner of the levee which is the levee district and the agency who has jurisdiction over the levee which is CPRA," he said.
DOTD says the repairs would cost around $1.5 million and Collette says he hopes those repairs start sooner rather than later.
"Especially before hurricane season. The traffic is going to triple or quadruple for the next few weeks we need to get it done," he says.
