[Road Rehab Presser ]
[00:00:10]
UH, JOINING ME HERE TODAY IS FRED RAFFORD, THE DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE, UH, VINCENT LATINO, WHO IS MY ASSISTANT CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER OVER OUR PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
AND DAN ROSENQUIST, WHO IS THE MANAGER OF OUR CITY PARISH ROAD REHABILITATION PROGRAM.
SO TODAY WE ARE PROUD TO SHARE THAT WE ARE ROLLING UP OUR SLEEVES AND DIVING INTO ONE OF OUR BIGGEST CHALLENGES, REHABILITATING OUR CITY PARISH ROADS WITH HUNDREDS OF MILES OF STREETS UNDER OUR CARE.
WE HAVE WORK TO DO, WORK THAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING, AND I AM GOING TO CONTINUE TO TAKE ACTION ON OUR ROADS.
SO TODAY I AM EXCITED TO SHARE OUR ACTION PLAN TO USE OUR EXTRA FUNDS FROM THE ROAD TO REHABILITATION PROGRAM.
WE PLAN TO REPAY 50 MILES OF CITY PARISH STREETS.
WE'RE TALKING SAFER, SMOOTHER DRIVES FOR EVERYONE, NOT NOW.
JUST FOR SOME QUICK BACKGROUND, THE ROAD REHAB HAS BEEN A DEDICATED PROGRAM IN CITY PARISH FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
UH, ABOUT ONCE A YEAR, WE PRESENT A BATCH OF PROJECTS TO REPAVE AND RESURFACE ROADS THROUGHOUT EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
THE ROADS IN THE PROGRAM HAVE BEEN WORN DOWN FOR MANY YEARS AND ARE IN NEED OF AN OVERHAUL.
WHEN COMPILING A LIST OF PROJECTS, WE EVALUATE SEVERAL FACTORS, INCLUDING THE ROADS CURRENT CONDITION, THE DAILY TRAFFIC VOLUME, AND THE PREVALENCE OF NEARBY ROADS ALSO REQUIRING REPAIRS.
WE HAVE A DUTY TO MAXIMIZE THE RESOURCES WE ARE GIVEN BY THE PUBLIC, AND THAT'S WHY WE ARE TAKING THIS VERY SERIOUSLY.
NOW, WHAT'S DIFFERENT THIS TIME IS THAT WE HAVE EXCESS REVENUE FROM THE PROGRAM FROM THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, ALLOWING US TO PROPOSE TWO ADDITIONAL ROUNDS OF PROJECTS.
FIRST, WE ARE REPAVING 33 MILES OF CITY PARISH ROADWAYS WITH A BUDGET OF $17.3 MILLION.
THEN WE ARE PUSHING FORWARD WITH REPAVING ANOTHER 17 MILES AT ABOUT $8.3 MILLION.
THAT'S 50 MILES OF SMOOTHER ROADS WITH WORK STARTING THIS YEAR.
YOU'LL NOTICE IN THE PACKETS THAT WE'RE HANDING OUT TO YOU THE DOZENS OF PROJECTS WE HAVE PLANNED FOR EVERY PART OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT I'M MOST EXCITED ABOUT INCLUDE NORTH FOSTER FOSTER DRIVE, REPAVING PORTIONS OF NORTH FOSTER DRIVE, HIGHLAND ROAD, BLUE BONNET BOULEVARD, HOLLYWOOD STREET, AND EVANGELINE STREET.
AND THOSE ARE JUST A FEW FROM PHASE ONE.
IN PHASE TWO, WE WILL BE REPAVING PORTIONS OF COLLEGE DRIVE, SPANISH TOWN ROAD, PERKINS ROAD, HUNDRED OAKS AVENUE, ROLLINS ROAD, THOMAS ROAD, JEWEL ROAD, AND MORE.
IN SHORT, WHAT I'M PRESENTING TODAY IS A MAJOR STRATEGY TO RESURFACE SOME OF OUR MOST TRAVELED ROADWAYS AND TO DO IT IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS, STARTING THIS YEAR.
BUT WE'RE NOT JUST REPAVING MAJOR ROADWAYS.
SAFETY, OF COURSE, IS OUR MAIN GOAL.
SO I'M ALSO SETTING ASIDE $1.5 MILLION FOR RES STRIPING, DOZENS OF ROADS IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
THIS IS IMPORTANT WORK THAT WILL REDUCE ACCIDENTS AND MOVE TRAFFIC.
NOW, WHEN IT COMES TO THE TIMELINE, THESE PROJECTS ARE MUCH MORE SIMPLE BECAUSE WE DON'T USUALLY HAVE AS MANY ISSUES WITH RIGHT OF WAY AND UTILITIES.
IN OTHER WORDS, WE CAN GET THIS WORK DONE MORE EXPEDITIOUSLY.
THE NEXT STEP IN OUR ACTION PLAN IS TO BRING IT HERE IN THE NEXT WEEK FOR THE CONSIDERATION OF THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL.
OF COURSE, I PRACTICE AN OPEN DOOR POLICY, AND I'M ALREADY ENGAGED WITH OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS ABOUT THIS PROPOSAL, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING THAT WORKING RELATIONSHIP.
THIS ISN'T THE FIRST TIME WE'VE DONE THIS DURING MY ADMINISTRATION, WE HAVE ALREADY REPAVED 184 MILES OF ROADWAYS AND PRESERVED ANOTHER 134 MILES OF PAVEMENT.
THESE ARE PROJECTS IN EVERY PART OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
PREVIOUS PROJECTS INCLUDE ACADIAN THROUGHWAY, CHOCTAW DRIVE, SHERWOOD FOREST, GOODWOOD BOULEVARD, AND PRIDE PORT HUDSON.
[00:05:01]
OUR ROADS ARE LIFELINES FOR THE CITY AND PARISH.THEY KEEP US CONNECTED, DRIVE OUR BUSINESSES, AND ARE THE PATHWAYS TO OUR HOMES AND NEIGHBORHOODS.
AS WE BREATHE NEW LIFE INTO THEM, WE ARE DRIVING TOWARDS A SAFER, MORE VIBRANT AND MORE CONNECTED BATON ROUGE.
I'M EXCITED TO DRIVE FORWARD INTO A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR EVERYONE.
I TRAVEL THE SAME ROADWAYS AS YOU DO AS OUR CONSTITUENTS AND CITIZENS.
I KNOW THE CHALLENGES THAT YOU FACE WITH THE ROADS.
I ALSO AM VERY GLAD THAT THIS PROJECT IS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ENTIRE CITY PARISH.
YOU'LL FIND PROJECTS FROM NORTH BATON ROUGE TO SOUTH BATON ROUGE, SOUTH BATON ROUGE TO NORTH BATON ROUGE.
AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF OUR CITIZENS IS OF UTMOST PRIORITY.
UH, NOW I'M GOING TO ASK FRED, THE DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION AND, UH, DEVELOPMENT, IF HE WOULD LIKE TO SAY A FEW WORDS.
FRED, YOU'D LIKE TO SAY A FEW WORDS.
I DO APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT I GET THE OPPORTUNITY, QUITE FRANKLY, YOU'VE SAID IT ALL.
I MEAN, IN REALITY, I THINK, UH, OUR PROGRAM NEEDS TO BE MOVING IN THIS DIRECTION.
UH, CERTAINLY ANYTIME YOU HAVE SURPLUS FUNDS, AND I'M VERY THANKFUL TO THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR LOOKING AT TRYING TO FIND WAYS TO, TO REDUCE COSTS ON, ON SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT IN THE FUTURE, HAS GENERATED THIS TYPE OF REVENUE TO HELP US, UH, FACILITATE GETTING THESE ROAD PROJECTS AND THE STRIPING DONE.
I WILL SAY THAT THERE'S A LOT OF ROADS THAT ARE BEING DONE, AND I THINK THE MAYOR'S E MENTIONED ALL THE, THE LOCATIONS.
I'D CERTAINLY BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO TALK ABOUT THAT IN, IN, AFTER THE, THE PRESENTATION.
BUT I'LL ALSO SAY THAT STRIPING IS JUST AS IMPORTANT.
UH, I LOVE RIDING ON SMOOTH ROADS, BUT THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WHO'VE CALLED EVERY DAY WHO EXPRESS THEIR CONCERN ABOUT, I'M NOT SURE WHAT LANE I'M DRIVING IN OR WHERE'S THE CURB AT, BECAUSE I DON'T SEE THE WHITE LINE OR THE MARKERS THAT ARE OUT THERE.
SO IN REALITY, THAT IS ONE OF OUR GOALS THAT WE WANT TO ALSO TRY TO DO IS AS THE MAYOR EMPHASIZES ON SAFETY, THAT IS CRITICAL FOR US.
ALSO, JUST IN GENERAL, WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT ABOUT 193 MILES OF STRIPING THAT'S GONNA BE DONE ON OUR ROADWAYS.
THE BIGGEST KEY TO ME IS THE MARKERS THAT YOU SEE SOMETIMES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE, UH, OF THE STREETS.
THOSE ARE GONNA BE AROUND ALMOST 22,000 MARKERS THAT WILL BE PUT OUT IN OUR ROADWAYS TO HELP FACILITATE PEOPLE DRIVING ON A DAY-TO-DAY, PARTICULARLY AT NIGHT, PARTICULARLY AT NIGHT.
THAT WILL, THERE WILL HELP THEM MOVE FROM PLACE TO PLACE IN A SAFER MANNER.
BUT FROM THAT, UH, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO MOVING, UH, US FORWARD FROM AN ASPHALT O OVERLAY ASPECT.
AND I'LL SAY THAT BECAUSE I ALSO HEAR, JUST AS THE MAYOR HAS, UH, SAID MANY TIMES TO ME, WE NEED TO GET OUR OUR ROAD REHAB PROGRAM BACK IN, IN GEAR.
AND WE HAVE BEEN, AND WE HAVE BEEN WORKING, BUT THE FACT THAT WE HAVE EXTRA FUNDS, WE WANT TO SEE ABOUT MAKING SURE WE CAN ADDRESS THE, THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IN A TIMELY FASHION.
AND I ALSO WANT TO, UH, THANK THE TEAM WORKING IN COLLABORATION WITH, UH, FRED AS WELL.
YOU KNOW, UM, I'M GONNA SAY SOMETHING IN CLOSING.
UM, MY GOAL AS MAYOR, PRESIDENT OF COURSE, IS TO ELEVATE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR EACH AND EVERY CITIZEN OF OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, JUST LIKE YOU, I WANNA SEE CLEAN COMMUNITIES, UH, CLEAN NEIGHBORHOODS.
I WANNA SEE SAFE, UH, COMMUNITIES AND SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS AS WELL AS ROADS MAINTAINED.
UM, SO MANY TIMES OUR CITIZENS, UH, USE 3 1 1.
AND OF COURSE YOU CAN STILL USE, UH, 3 1 1 IF YOU HAVE A ROAD ISSUE THAT HASN'T BEEN UH, RESOLVED.
UM, YOU CAN STILL CALL 3 1 1, BUT, UH, IF YOU WANNA CALL THE DEPARTMENT OF MAINTENANCE, UH, YOU CAN ALSO CALL THEM AT THREE EIGHT NINE THREE ONE FIVE EIGHT.
AND AFTER YOU CALL 3 1 1 OR THE DEPARTMENT OF MAINTENANCE AND YOU STILL CAN'T GET ACTION, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DROP ME A EMAIL AT MAYOR@BRLA.GOV.
THAT'S MAYOR AT BR LA UH, DOT GOV.
UH, WE HAVE SOME WONDERFUL PEOPLE WHO SERVE HERE IN CITY PARISH GOVERNMENT, AND THEY ALL WANT TO WORK WITH OUR CITIZENS TO HELP, UH, MOVE US FORWARD.
SO, UH, WITH THAT BEING SAID, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? HOW WERE, UH, THE STREETS FOR BAYS ONE CHOSEN? WHY DID YOU GUYS DECIDE TO GO WITH THOSE ROADWAYS FIRST? A LOT OF IT IS, AS THE MAYOR INDICATED
[00:10:01]
IN HER PRESENTATION, UH, WE LOOKED AT VARIOUS FACTORS THAT HAD TO BE LOOKED, UH, TO CONSIDER WHEN WE LOOK AT THE OVERLAY PROCESS IN GENERAL.BUT IN REALITY, MOST OF THESE ROADWAYS, UH, HAVE SEEN ITS LIFE EXPECTANCY, AND YOU REALLY WANT TO TRY TO ADDRESS THAT AS, AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, BECAUSE ALL IT THEN, AT THIS POINT WOULD COST YOU MORE MONEY TO GET IT FIXED.
SO I THINK FROM A, UH, UH, AVAILABILITY AND LOOKING AT PLENTY OF ROADWAYS, WE HAVE A LOT OF ROADWAYS WE NEED TO HAVE DONE, BUT WE ARE LOOKING AT THE ONES THAT CERTAINLY HAVE HIGH TRAVEL, UH, UH, VELOCITY OF CARS.
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, I THINK IT'S, IT'S REALLY CRITICAL FROM A SAFETY STANDPOINT.
AND I THINK ALL THOSE FACTORS WERE CONSIDERED AND WHAT ANY ROAD COULD BE INCLUDED IN THE PACKET.
BUT I FEEL LIKE WE FOLLOWED THE PROCESS THAT WE NEED TO DO TO GET THE, THE MOST BANG FOR OUR DOLLAR.
DO YOU KNOW WHEN THE, THE, I KNOW THE COUNCIL HAVE TO APPROVE THIS, BUT DO YOU KNOW WHEN THE, LIKE THE PROJECT WILL START OR WE EXPECT TO BE FINISHED? UH, I DID ASK OUR, OUR DIRECTOR THAT QUESTION TODAY 'CAUSE I FIGURED THAT Y'ALL WOULD ASK THAT QUESTION.
UH, AND THE MAYOR STATED IT VERY CLEARLY TOO.
WE WILL START SOME WORK THIS YEAR.
UH, WE HAVE PROJECTS THAT WE REALLY WANT TO MAKE SURE WE GET OUT, AND NUMBER ONE WOULD PROBABLY BE, IN MY MIND, IS COLLEGE DRIVE.
AND BECAUSE IT IS A, A, A SERIOUS ROADWAY THAT CARRIES A LOT OF TRAFFIC.
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE WILL ALSO DO THAT WORK AT NIGHT BECAUSE I THINK IT'S CRITICAL THAT WE KEEP IN MIND THAT PEOPLE DRIVE THOSE ROADWAYS DAY, UH, EVERY DAY.
AND WE ARE TRYING TO MINIMIZE THE INCONVENIENCE TO THE MOTORING PUBLIC AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
BUT AGAIN, UH, THAT THOSE ARE THE FACTORS THAT WE LOOK AT.
WE MAY MAKE SOME CHANGES IN SOME OTHER LOCATIONS DEPENDING ON WHERE WE NEED TO BE AT THE TIME WE GO AHEAD AND DID THE BIDS AND FROM THE CONTRACTOR STANDPOINT.
AND IF I MAY ADD SOMETHING TO THAT, TO THAT, UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE ALSO SIMULTANEOUSLY HAVE THE LARGEST INFRASTRUCTURE TRANSPORTATION ROADS PROJECT IN THE HISTORY OF BATON ROUGE TAKING PLACE, WHICH IS MOVE VR.
SO THIS IS ABOVE AND BEYOND THE PROJECTS THAT ARE, UH, CURRENTLY BEING WORKED ON THROUGH THE MOVE V B R PROJECT.
SO HOW LONG, ABOUT HOW LONG WILL THIS TAKE YOU ESTIMATE? WELL, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE, AS YOU HEARD FRED SAY, WE ARE STARTING, UH, PROJECTS THIS YEAR.
UH, BUT, UH, OUR BEST ESTIMATE THAT WE CAN TELL YOU IS THAT WE'LL BE CONTINUING TO DO THESE PROJECTS FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS AT LEAST, CORRECT? YES, MA'AM.
THERE'S A LOT OF CONSTRUCTION PLANNED.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, MOVE E B R AND THEN THIS, AND ALSO THE I 10 WIDENING PROJECT IS REALLY GONNA RAMP UP IN 2025.
THEY'RE GONNA HAVE THOSE MAJOR LANE CLOSURES THAT'S GONNA PUSH A LOT OF TRAFFIC ONTO OUR SURFACE STREETS.
SO HAS THE IMPACT OF CONSTRUCTION ON CONGESTION BEEN CONSIDERED, ESPECIALLY ALONG LIKE COLLEGE DRIVE? BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, CONSTRUCTION GONNA GONNA BE GOING ON THERE.
I'M GOING TO COMMENT ON THAT AND THEN I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO FRED.
BUT THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS YES.
UM, UH, THE CONGESTION, UM, DUE TO A LOT OF DIFFERENT ROAD WORK THAT'S TAKING PLACE IS BEING CONSIDERED.
AS YOU HEARD MR. RAYFORD SAY, UH, THE WORK ON ONE OF THE PROJECTS WILL BE DONE AT NIGHT, AND THAT PROBABLY WILL BE, UH, PART OF THE FORMULA FOR THE WORK THAT IS BEING, UH, DONE.
UH, BUT I WILL TELL YOU, I OFTEN USE THE TERM, SOMETIMES WE HAVE TO HAVE, UH, SHORT TERM DISCOMFORT FOR LONG TERM GAIN.
AND, UH, BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE AS A, UH, PASSENGER RIDING AND THROUGHOUT BATON ROUGE AND WHAT I HEAR FROM MANY, UH, CONSTITUENTS, UH, I BELIEVE WE ALL ARE IN CONCERT AND IN ONE ACCORD IN SAYING THAT OUR ROADS NEED TO BE REHABBED.
FRED, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD TO THAT? JUST ONE COMMENT, MAYOR.
I WOULD JUST SAY THAT ALL THOSE FACTORS WERE CONSIDERED, AND CERTAINLY WITH THE MO VR PROGRAM, I HAVE INSTRUCTED OUR PROGRAM MANAGERS, REGARDLESS OF THE WORK THAT'S TAKEN PLACE, TO MOVE OUR PROJECTS THROUGH THE PROCESS, WHICH MEANS DESIGN RIGHT OF WAY, ACQUISITION, UTILITY, RELOCATION, AND THEN BECAUSE YOU CAN'T DO ANY CONSTRUCTION UNTIL ALL THOSE FACTORS ARE, ARE DONE, WE WILL LOOK AT WHERE WE ARE FROM A CONSTRUCTION ASPECT WITH THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING ON THE INTERSTATE, PARTICULARLY BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH D O T D IN REGARDS TO THAT AND TRY TO BE SURE WE CAN MINIMIZE THE INCONVENIENCE TO THE MOTOR AND PUBLIC.
THAT IS THE MAYOR'S NUMBER ONE GOAL.
SHE'S MADE THAT VERY CLEAR TO OUR ENTIRE, OUR ENTIRE DEPARTMENT.
BUT I WILL ALSO SAY THAT THE MOVIE YARD PROGRAM, IT, IT WAS VOTED ON BY THE VOTERS OF THIS PARISH.
AND THEY ALSO EXPECT TO SEE SOME ROAD IMPROVEMENTS GETTING DONE FOR THOSE, THOSE HALF
[00:15:01]
CENT THAT WE'RE SPENDING AT THIS POINT.AND WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO FIND WAYS TO MANAGE THAT IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS WHERE WE ARE SPENDING THE MONEY AT THE MOY PROGRAM GETTING THESE PROJECTS THROUGH WITHOUT HAVING THE REAL IMPACT ON, ON TRAFFIC AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
THERE MAY BE LOCATIONS THAT, THAT YOU'RE GONNA HAVE SOME INCONVENIENCE AS THE MAYOR STATED, BUT YOU KNOW, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, WE WANT TO BE SURE THAT THE PEOPLE WHO VOTED FOR THIS TAX SEE THOSE ROAD IMPROVEMENTS GET IN PLACE AND CAN DRIVE ON 'EM BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THEY FEEL LIKE THEY PAID FOR GUYS.
WITH THE, UH, WITH THE MOVE VR PROGRAM HAPPENING IN CONJUNCTION, YOU KNOW, WITH THE ROAD REHAB PROGRAM, I WANTED TO KNOW, UM, IS THERE, IS THERE A BEST WAY FOR RESIDENTS TO KIND OF KEEP UP WITH THE CURRENT PROJECTS IN THAT WAY THEY CAN, YOU KNOW, KIND OF PLAN THEIR DAYS BASED ON THE DIFFERENT DETOURS AND THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON? THAT'S A VERY GOOD QUESTION.
WITH OUR MOVIE VR, WE HAVE A WEBSITE THAT IS UP THAT CITIZENS CAN LOOK AT TO SEE WHERE WORK IS GOING ON, UH, AT THAT CURRENT TIME.
AND THAT WILL HELP THEM BETTER PLAN THEIR ROUTE AS THEY MOVE AROUND TOWN.
SO YES, WE DO HAVE THAT WEBSITE.
THAT WEBSITE WOULD PROBABLY BE MOVIE MOVE VR.COM.
MOVE BR MOVE BR BR COM BBR LA.COM.
AND WAS THAT YOUR QUESTION AS WELL? YEAH, THAT WAS MY, MY OTHER WOULD JUST BE ANY TIPS OR, UH, YEAH, OR SUGGESTIONS FOR, UM, ESPECIALLY DURING OUR HIGH TRAFFIC STAY, STAY IN TUNE, UH, TO THAT WEBSITE.
AND IN THE UPCOMING WEEKS WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE, UH, SHARING SOME OTHER TECHNOLOGY THAT'S GOING TO, I BELIEVE BE VERY, UH, USER-FRIENDLY FOR OUR CITIZENS TO FIND OUT WHAT'S GOING ON, NOT ONLY WITH TRAFFIC, BUT OTHER, UH, ISSUES IN CITY PARISH, GOVERNMENT.