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DeSoto Parish jury authorizes oil‑mix treatment and lowers speed after residents plead for help on Stagecoach Road
Summary
After residents described blinding dust and unsafe conditions from heavy oilfield traffic, the DeSoto Parish Police Jury voted to authorize the road department to apply oil mix to portions of Stagecoach Road (inventory permitting) and to lower the speed limit to 25 mph; timing depends on material availability.
The DeSoto Parish Police Jury voted to authorize its road department to extend an oil‑mix treatment on Stagecoach Road and to pursue an ordinance reducing the speed limit to 25 mph after multiple residents described hazardous driving conditions caused by heavy oilfield traffic.
Alan Davis, who identified himself as a Stagecoach Road resident, told the road committee the 1.9‑mile route has recurring dust, mud and safety problems from saltwater and sand trucks. "It's horrible. It's unsafe," Davis said, urging the jury to "put a number to that and help us out." Officials acknowledged sections of the road already received an oil mix and said extending that treatment could curb dust more quickly than a full asphalt overlay.
Road‑department staff told the committee the oil mix must either be pulled from existing inventory or produced at a pug mill; if additional mixing is required the work could wait until the next production run in spring, but if material is in stock the department could act sooner. Staff emphasized inventory and hauling capacity could affect timing. The jury approved a motion to authorize the road department to place oil mix on Stagecoach Road and to prepare an ordinance to lower the posted speed from 35 to 25 mph; the motion passed (tally not specified).
Members said lowering the posted speed can be implemented quickly through the jury's ordinance process, while the oil‑mix application will be scheduled once staff confirms material availability and cost. Committee members and residents also urged the jury to take a parish‑wide inventory of gravel and oil‑mix needs so that other similarly damaged roads can be addressed more systematically.
Next steps: the road department will check inventory and coordinate with the pug‑mill operator on possible production; staff will bring an ordinance lowering the speed limit to the next regular meeting and report back on timing and budget for the oil‑mix work.
