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Broussard council approves changing status of two lanes, citing limited public use and maintenance costs
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Summary
The City of Broussard approved resolutions to abandon the public dedication of Gondren Lane and to relocate the dedication of Charles Longene (formerly Bersaj) Lane to restricted use, citing lack of public use, bridge ownership issues and maintenance burdens.
The City of Broussard council voted May 13 to abandon the public dedication of Gondren Lane and to relocate the dedication status of Charles Longene Lane, known locally as Bersaj Lane, citing limited public use and maintenance costs.
Council leaders said the changes are intended to remove maintenance burdens from the city where public benefit is limited and to protect city investments used by emergency services.
Mayor said in presenting the Gondren Lane item, “Gondren Lane currently is a, a road that is dedicated from Main Street to the bridge and from KOL to the bridge. The bridge is not dedicated to Broussard.” The council was asked to “clean up some paperwork” and abandon the public dedication so the corridor could be treated as a private road used by the few properties that access it.
Staff member Walter summarized the situation for Gondren Lane: “It was dedicated in pieces, but then pieces were abandoned, and it it's kind of a mishmash....the bridge was never dedicated. It's a private bridge with a public road on either side of it.” Walter added that replacing the bridge would be costly: “Bridges are about a million dollars,” and the city did not see a public-use justification for that expense.
On Charles Longene Lane (formerly Bersaj Lane), the council approved a separate resolution to relocate the dedication and restrict public access while retaining city ownership for operational and emergency use. The mayor described that road as “almost 100% extensively used by our police department, fire department, public works department.” Staff said the intent is to preserve the city’s ability to use and maintain the road for emergency vehicles and for planned uses such as a future fire training facility.
Council discussion was procedural and no public comment was recorded. Both resolutions were moved and approved by the council.
The decisions remove these segments from standard public-road maintenance obligations and formalize restricted or private status; the council said the moves are mainly administrative and intended to avoid large capital expenditures where public usage is minimal.
