Council approves Hoover Road change order and substantial completion; members cite drainage improvements

The Tangipahoa Parish Council approved Change Order No. 2 for Hoover Road Widening Phase 2A and accepted the project's substantial completion for the North Hoover segment at its May 11 meeting.

Parish President Miller (speaker 3) told the council the change order reflects quantity adjustments and cited a net increase, saying, "it's $3,400 and $603,469 dollars and 95¢ increase." He said the change order kept the contract close to the original bid despite the adjustments and asked the council to approve it.

Council members who had inspected the corridor praised the results. One council member (speaker 8) said after riding the road, "it's beautiful. They've done an excellent job," and another (speaker 6) noted that the new roundabout and subsurface drainage addressed chronic flooding at that location. Miller and council members discussed that much of the project cost was underground work to improve drainage, and they said state Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) projects nearby should connect with the parish work.

A motion to approve the change order and a separate motion to accept substantial completion for North Hoover were moved and carried by roll call. Miller said the parish has sought additional state capital outlay and is adding local funds to incentivize state participation where needed.

Next steps: staff will coordinate final punch-list items, continue inspections as required by engineers and pursue available state capital outlay funds to complete adjacent segments.

The council recorded the approvals by roll call; documentation and final payment reconciliation will be handled by Public Works and parish procurement offices.