DENHAM SPRINGS — For many Livingston Parish residents and visitors, the Juban Road expansion project and roadwork has felt like a never-ending story. DOTD says that the end is in sight and closer than you might think.
The project expands Juban Road from U.S. 190 to Castle Rd. into a four-lane roadway, along with the construction of a two-lane roundabout at the intersection of Juban Rd. and Hwy. 190.
UWK spoke to DOTD Communications Director Rodney Mallet to learn more about what slowed the project’s progress. He explained that the delays were not due to “lackadaisical efforts” but rather unforeseen circumstances that the department couldn’t plan for.
A contractor won the bid for the Juban Road roundabout project in 2018 and began the work of “clearing and grubbing,” Mallet explained. This meant moving trees, stumps and underground utility lines out of the way of where the real work would happen.
The individual companies and not the project’s contractor are responsible for moving the utilities out of the way, which includes phone lines, gas lines, cable lines, water, sewer, and more, Mallet said. To continue with any construction, these must be relocated.
“What happened with this project is it took almost three years for the utilities to move their stuff,” he explained. “So the contractor is in a bind, because he can’t do his job for three years, and he can’t bid on other contracts.”
In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic occurred during the utilities delay, and prices began skyrocketing with supply chain issues, he said. “He can’t change his price and now he’s losing money.”
The Juban Road widening project went up for bid in mid-2019, Mallet said, with a different contractor (KCR Contractors) being awarded that work. The widening project began to move forward with clearing while the roundabout project was still stalled.
After the roundabout project’s contractor approached DOTD with concerns regarding being able to continue the work, the department decided to merge the roundabout and widening projects into one, both with KCR Contractors.
In late 2022, DOTD announced the projects were merging, saying that noticeable roadwork would begin in spring 2023.
As work started, Mallet said that the contractors discovered drainage concerns, which is common in this part of the state. Because the current drainage was insufficient, contractors needed to add catch basins and dig a large outfall to correct the issue.
When it comes to weather affecting the project’s schedule, Mallet said that planning does take rain delays into account. If the contractor’s crews cannot perform work due to rain, DOTD will consider the situation and add days back onto the schedule.
Rainfall doesn’t just impact a crew’s ability to work that day, though. Mallet explained that oftentimes, water must be pumped out to continue drainage work, meaning that a day of heavy rain could result in two days of lost work.
While rainy seasons can affect these road projects, Mallet said that the Juban Road widening and roundabout delays were primarily the issues with relocating utilities in a timely manner.
Since 2023 when both projects were merged and started making progress, things have moved forward “in earnest.”
The Juban Road project has been a sort-of learning experience for all involved. “We didn’t anticipate it taking so long to move all the utilities. The contract that was in place was to allow folks to get started quickly, but it didn’t happen because of all the utility delays.”
“I understand it’s been a big pain. But it’s not because of anything that any one person has done and it’s not because of any lackadaisical effort,” Mallet told UWK.
Mallet said the roundabout has already allowed traffic to flow better, even with accidents on I-12 redirecting traffic onto Florida Blvd., such as the accident that injured five on I-12 East Wednesday morning.
As of Sept. 15, DOTD crews were slip forming the outside curb for the road, Mallet said. At this time, the project is on track for completion by the end of October to mid-November.
“I appreciate everyone’s patience; it’s going to be a great project,” Mallet said.
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