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Jurors debate Metcalf Road overlay versus truck‑route upgrade; residents raise noise and safety concerns
Summary
The jury reviewed a $1.5 million budget allocation for Metcalf Road and debated whether to perform a thin lift overlay or convert the corridor into a truck route, a change that would require right‑of‑way acquisition and curve realignments. Residents asked the parish to keep truck traffic off residential Kyle Porter Road and raised concerns about all‑night truck noise and safety.
Jurors considered options for Metcalf Road, where the budget includes roughly $1.5 million for improvements. Road staff described the funding as sufficient for a base‑course rework and overlay and explained that upgrading Metcalf to a truck route would require purchasing right‑of‑way and realigning two ninety‑degree curves.
Several residents and jurors asked that the county reassign truck traffic to a nonresidential route instead of allowing heavy vehicles to use Kyle Porter Road, which residents said suffers from continuous truck noise and safety risks. "Sometimes it takes me 15, 20 minutes just to back off my driveway because of the truck traffic," one resident said.
Staff said they had contacted affected landowners and found they were reluctant to donate right‑of‑way for a truck route; jurors agreed to continue studying both options. The committee discussed pursuing a limited overlay and pursuing rights‑of‑way and realignment if a truck route is to be pursued in future budget cycles.
Outcome: Jurors asked staff to return with hard numbers and right‑of‑way options; no final design decision was made at this meeting.
