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Resident surveyor outlines parishwide transportation plan; council schedules infrastructure committee to review
Summary
Ralph Burgess presented a concept map of road connectors, roundabouts and widening projects intended to improve evacuation and traffic flow; council placed the concept on the infrastructure committee agenda for the first week of March.
Ralph Burgess, a local licensed land surveyor, presented a parishwide transportation concept at the Livingston Parish Council meeting on Feb. 26, outlining connectors, widenings and roundabout locations he and a group of local planners had developed over many years.
Why it matters: The map is intended to form the backbone of a long-range transportation footprint for Livingston Parish and to help prioritize projects for MPO funds, capital outlay and other sources; council leaders said they view it as a starting point for a multi-year plan.
What Burgess presented
Burgess described a collection of connector roads and an “economic corridor” concept, including a proposed 190–1249 connector across the river, a Lockhart Road-to-LA 63 expressway alignment, and multiple roundabout candidates and widening projects on Highway 16 and other corridors. He said the plan draws on earlier local planning discussions from the early 2000s and has been updated with recent state-project information.
Council response and next steps
Council members praised Burgess’s volunteer work and asked that his plan be added to the infrastructure committee’s first meeting in March for detailed review. Councilman Goff said the concept is a “game changer” for addressing traffic problems and urged the council to develop a consistent long-range footprint so future councils and parish presidents can work from the same plan. Councilman Mangus noted information shared with DOTD estimating a $17.6 million cost on a cited corridor and raised concerns about whether state plans would widen an overpass tied to local connectors.
The council directed staff and Burgess to tighten the concept into a format the infrastructure committee can review, tasking Burgess with compiling traffic counts on state routes parishwide to identify where turn lanes and roundabouts might be most effective. The parish will use the committee meeting to refine project lists and prepare potential funding applications to MPO and capital-outlay programs; no funding commitments were made at the meeting.
What the presentation did not do
No construction contracts were authorized, and no precise cost estimates or funding sources were adopted. Council members acknowledged the plan is preliminary and contingent on further engineering, DOTD coordination and future funding.
Provenance: Burgess’s remarks and council discussion appear in the meeting transcript beginning with his presentation and continuing through council commentary and the scheduling of the infrastructure committee.
