GUEYDAN — Drivers are voicing frustrations about road conditions along Highway 14 near Gueydan, saying potholes have become so severe they are forced to take dangerous measures to avoid them.
"I make sure that nobody's coming and I'll get in the middle of the road because I don't want to hit these potholes. They're so bad they'll end up busting a tire or messing the truck or the cars up," said Britt David, a driver.
Glenda Mowry, another driver, said the damage is widespread.
"You got holes all over the place. You got to kind of like drive down the middle of the lane not to hit anything," Mowry said.
For some drivers, avoiding potholes has become part of the commute, and they say when rain moves in, the problem gets worse.
"Whenever it rains the water pools in the middle of the road. I've seen people hydroplane. I've seen people lose tires. I, myself, have lost a tire there recently. I had to get it patched," said Miranda Primeaux, a driver.
Primeaux said even when it is not raining, the conditions are still dangerous.
"Girl, whenever you get on there, you have to go around potholes. You have people that are driving in your lane oncoming to miss potholes," Primeaux said.
David said he experienced the danger firsthand.
"I hydroplaned a little bit and then got back on the road, so it's just a matter of when they're going to have a bad accident," David said.
DOTD said a project is in the works to fix a stretch of the highway.
"A future project to patch, mill and overlay a 5 mile stretch of La. 14 from Zwan Road to La. 91 is scheduled to bid out for construction later this summer," DOTD said.
