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Committee adds drainage and flood‑resilience language to I‑12 resolution and reports it with amendments
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Summary
The House Transportation Committee adopted amendments to House Concurrent Resolution 69 urging DOTD to consider drainage, medium‑barrier permeability and hydraulic connectivity in redesigns of Interstate 12 after members cited litigation and past flooding that was exacerbated by barrier designs.
The committee adopted an amendment package to HCR 69 on April 27 that adds findings about litigation and flood risk associated with certain median barrier and roadway designs on Interstate 12 and urges the Department of Transportation and Development to include drainage capacity, flood risk reduction and hydraulic connectivity in design evaluations.
Representative Sawyer, who helped draft the amendments, told the panel that ‘‘in 2016 … there were significant floodwaters that were held up by a barrier on I‑12’’ and argued the amendment simply adds flood‑resiliency language to an existing transportation improvement resolution. He noted prior federal programs and a lack of awarded funds to Louisiana for a prior resilience program and said the amendment was coordinated with the author and Representative Dickerson.
The adopted amendment set (44 80) adds whereas clauses referencing litigation that showed medium barriers and roadway designs may have impeded natural drainage and contributed to flood damage; it urges DOTD to assess medium barrier permeability, cross‑drainage structures and other measures to ensure improvements do not exacerbate flooding in adjacent communities. Representative Dickerson and other members said the language would help address local flooding concerns and expressed support.
The committee adopted the amendment set by voice vote and reported HCR 69 with amendments. The resolution is an urging/request rather than a binding mandate; any physical design changes would depend on DOTD action and potential funding.
What it means: The amendments elevate flood‑resilience considerations in future I‑12 work and explicitly ask DOTD to account for hydraulic connectivity and barrier design, potentially shaping engineering reviews and funding priorities if the resolution influences DOTD planning.
