Police Jury shifts HB2 funds and approves Red Bluff reconstruction design funding

Jurors debated several road-funding actions and passed measures to keep multiple HB2 projects moving. Speaker 5 described reallocating unused HP2 (HB2 equivalent) funding and jury matching funds from Marshall Road to the Red Wolf Road and Bethlehem Road projects to address overruns and schedule needs, while emphasizing that Marshall Road would not be left without capacity for additional work.

Speaker 5 moved to amend the road budget to add $100,000 to the truck-hauling line to compensate for limited available hauling trucks and maintenance issues affecting contractor fleets. Speaker 2 explained the department had four trucks on order and that current shortfalls were delaying work; jurors approved the additional appropriation.

The panel also authorized the president to sign a resolution to begin budgeting matching funds in the 2026 budget for the Pine/Red Bluff Road reconstruction project, with a total project design and construction estimate of $3,000,000. Speaker 2 said the design contract is underway and that construction would be scheduled for next year, with a goal of widening the right of way, improving drainage and fully reconstructing the corridor.

Several jurors pressed staff on drainage, culvert replacements and the need to avoid advancing an overlay where larger ditching or culvert work remains. Staff said some culverts and side-drain work would not be included in the current Marshall Road bid and that the correction resolution would allow specific transfers to keep multiple projects moving without canceling the primary Marshall Road work.