Cedars: Questions about bypass need to be answered

Folks are talking about a bypass around St. Martinville again, but St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars says there are a lot of unanswered questions at this stage. The proposal, he said, would construct a bypass around significant portions of the city of about four miles and change. The bypass would allow truck traffic to avoid the historic area of the city, where those trucks have repeatedly damaged the roads and buildings trying to negotiate narrow streets and sharp corners. "It’s simply a proposal at this point in time," Cedars said. "And as CEO of St. Martin Parish Government, I’m vetting the proposal very closely. But at this point, we have many unanswered questions and unanswered concerns related to it."Cedars said he has to decide if he will recommend that the parish council spend money on the project, and so his primary concern is how such a project would benefit the parish. He said he doesn’t want anybody to think he’s made up his mind, because he hasn’t. "None of my comments should be interpreted as opposition to the proposal," he said. "It seems to be a worthy objective, and there are a lot of advantages for the citizens of this parish, particularly the citizens of St. Martinville. However, until we can fully explore all the issues associated with this proposal until I can get a reasonable price tag on the project, I believe we need to put our brakes on a little bit and proceed with caution."Cedars said any resolution "has to be beneficial to all the governmental entities involved."