Road bond program: five projects under construction as parish reaches ~71 miles

Parish staff reported steady progress on the road bond construction program, with five projects currently in construction and additional projects queued for council action.

“Right now on the bond pro road bond program, um, we currently have five projects in construction. Uh, project one's approximately 40% complete,” Public Works staff member Ricky said. Staff reported the original program list began with 263 roadway candidates; as work progressed the count and mileage were adjusted to reflect realistic construction batches. The parish has completed about 71 miles within the first six projects and estimated current program costs at roughly $34 million.

Officials said project six is scheduled for council approval on Aug. 27 and project seven’s bid opening is also Aug. 27 with council approval planned for Sept. 10; once those awards are made the parish will proceed to project eight. Each awarded construction contract carries a 180-day construction window after the contractor’s notice to proceed, which staff expect to issue within 30 days of council approval.

Most bids to date have come in under the engineer’s estimate; staff said only one of six bids came in over estimate and that variance was minor. Staff urged continuing oversight on contractor performance and paperwork to ensure timely completion and reduce instances where the parish must call bonds for repair work.