CENTRAL — Central Police Chief Roger Corcoran is raising awareness about a dangerous stretch of road in his jurisdiction and asking the state to step in and help reduce crashes on Greenwell Springs Rd.
That stretch is between the 19,000 and 23,000 blocks of Greenwell Springs Road, between Hooper and Wax Roads in the City of Central.
Issues with the most dangerous stretch of the road include a lack of a shoulder, a deep drainage ditch filled with asphalt and culverts, and an eroding surface on the actual road.
Central Police Chief Roger Corcoran says he’s asking the Louisiana Dept. of Transportation and Development to do something.
“These state roadways that have absolutely no shoulder and no room for error, we’re having some bad crashes. We just had another fatality on Greenwell Springs Road and something has to be done. DOTD has to step in,” Corcoran said.
In the previous year alone, UWK has covered numerous crashes on the stretch of road Corcoran is referring to, some even fatal.
East Baton Rouge Parish, where Central is located, also has the highest car accident rate in Louisiana. Nearly 275 drivers per 1,000 were involved in accidents in 2023. Of the 799 people who died in crashes across the state last year, 68 were killed in East Baton Rouge Parish, making it the highest in the state.
Ultimately, Corcoran says it’s up to drivers to pay attention and with the rise of cellphones and map applications, there have never been more distracted drivers on the roadways than there are now.
“Please stay off the phone when you’re on these roadways, especially Greenwell Springs Road. It has little error. You will end up in the ditch or in the path of someone else. We don’t need any other fatalities. We don’t need any more wrecks,” Corcoran said.
UWK reached out to DOTD regarding the crashes along Greenwell Springs Rd., who said they are aware of issues on that stretch of roadway. They said they plan to lay rumble strips and reflectors on portions of Greenwell Springs Road but said that project isn’t expected to go out to bid for another two years.
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