Get AI Briefings, Transcripts & Alerts on Local & National Government Meetings — Forever.
St. Charles Parish president updates council on utility work, Ashton Boulevard closure and parks projects
Loading...
Summary
Parish President Jewell briefed the council on preliminary utility work for a jack-and-bore pipeline project, a Union Pacific crossing closure on Ashton Boulevard set for Sept. 24, new Ashton Plantation soccer fields and parking, festival preparations at Westbank Bridge Park, and recent emergency-response training for hazardous materials.
Parish President Jewell delivered a report to the St. Charles Parish Council outlining several community and infrastructure updates, including preliminary work on a jack-and-bore pipeline project, a scheduled railroad crossing closure, park and sports-field improvements, festival preparations and a recent hazardous-materials training exercise.
Jewell said contractor crews are conducting potholing and other utility-location work to prepare the site for the CN jack-and-bore project near the Destrehan Tube pump station. She described the jack-and-bore method as placing new underground pipes with minimal surface disruption and called the early work "long and tedious" because of sensitive site conditions.
Jewell said Union Pacific will close one side of the Ashton Boulevard crossing on Wednesday, Sept. 24, to make repairs. She said the parish will keep the Hackberry Street gate open to maintain local access during the repairs and asked for patience as crews work with Union Pacific.
On parks projects, Jewell said the Ashton Plantation Soccer Complex now has several new fields and a new parking lot to handle higher weekend use. She thanked the council, the recreation department and public works for completing a joint-use agreement with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and for supplying crushed-asphalt material for the parking area. Jewell said parish crews will no longer need to mow certain school fields once the new complex is in regular use, freeing parks staff to focus on parish-owned parks.
Jewell also said preparations are underway for the 2025 Alligator Festival at Westbank Bridge Park and that rides have already begun to arrive. She reported results from the recent King Cat Fishing Rodeo, noting 95 participants from 37 teams, a largest fish of 72.6 pounds and a winning team total of 224.19 pounds.
On emergency preparedness, Jewell said the parish emergency operations center hosted hazardous-materials training that drew more than 80 first responders from four parishes plus state and local military participants. The training focused on accident response to anhydrous ammonia and included a specialized training truck brought from Indiana; Jewel credited a partnership involving the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, Gram Logistics and CF Industries.
Jewell closed by congratulating parish employees who won an internal "Battle for the Paddle" cooking competition and promoted the United Way of St. Charles battle scheduled for Oct. 2 at the Edward A. Dufresne Community Center.
