Road work set on Hwy. 21 through Bogalusa

If you've driven Sullivan Drive (Highway 21) through Bogalusa anytime in the past couple of weeks, you may have noticed orange markings on the curbs and the roadway.

Highway markings just to the
west of the Hwy. 10/21 intersection.
(Photo by John H. Walker)

That's because a patching project is getting ready to begin, starting at the intersection of Highway 21 and Highway 10, in the next couple of weeks.

"We're going in and are going to patch some rough spots," said Tommy Hemphill, Louisiana DOTD engineer in Franklinton.

"We'll start at (Highway) 10 and work south," he explained.

Along the way, any place you see orange marks around a rough spot on the roadway, it will be dug out, a new base laid and the spot patched to eliminate the damaged highway.

"We should get started in the next couple of weeks, and it should take us three or four months to get everything fixed," Hemphill said.

Hemphill also noted that "some preliminary work" is being done in preparation for an upcoming overlay project on Highway 1075, which begins at the intersection of Avenue F and West 10th Street and continues 7.44 miles south until it intersects with La. 21.

(Published first at http://www.wpnewsblog.blogspot.com)
(This is a reader news tip story.)

Dollar Road bridge open, Poplas to be replaced

It's been out for more than a decade, but the bridge on Dollar Road is finally reopened.

"People have had to drive several miles around just to go what would have been less than a mile," Washington Parish Councilman Andre Johnson said at a previous meeting, but now, those days are past.

The Dollar Road Bridge, longest in the parish with the exception of bridges over either the Bogue Chitto River or Pearl River, has finally been completed.

"It's really nice," Parish President Richard Thomas said Monday night. "It's landscaped and looks really nice, and people are already pulling down alongside it to fish or cool off in the water."

In addition to the Dollar Road Bridge, the Hilltop Church Road Bridge has also been inspected and opened to traffic by the Louisiana DOTD. Parish officials are waiting on Martin Road Bridge to be inspected and opened.

Three bridges, including the Poplas Street Bridge in Bogalusa, will have contracts let in August. While that means it could be another 75 days before construction starts, it also means it could be a shorter time line as well.

Parish government is responsible for all bridges in the parish.

(Published first at http://www.wpnewsblog.blogspot.com)