Morrow Road project gets nod

A ruling handed down by a district judge on Monday has laid the groundwork for improvements to Morrow Road, according to information reported at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Acadia Parish Police Jury’s Road and Bridge Committee.

For many years, jurors’ desire to improve the road has been blocked by a landowner’s refusal to grant the Jury right-of-way to widen the road. 

The judge’s decision granted the Jury a 30-foot wide servitude on each side of the road, while permitting the landowner to retain title to the property. 

Engineer Karl Aucoin told the committee he estimated it would cost $650,000 to widen and hard-surface the roadway from Atwood Acres to the bridge, and an additional $250,000 — for a total of $900,000 — to extend the project to the road’s intersection with La. Highway 1112.

Under a DOTD project to renew Hwy. 1112 and then turn over ownership to the parish, the parish would earn some $1.2 million in “credits” which could be applied to the Morrow Road project. 

Prior to the court ruling, jurors had prioritized those funds for work on three other roads.

As Juror Dale Trahan pointed out, Morrow Road’s connection to La. Highway 13 and Hwy. 1112 is vital for access to the fire station planned for new Fire District No. 11, with other jurors indicating they agreed.

The committee voted to recommend Morrow Road be considered for prioritizing.