City of Abbeville working on drainage issues

Is that rain?
At the rate things have been going, it probably is.
Now, with the help of a recently completed drainage project, rain doesn’t mean the intersection of East Lafayette Street and South Louisiana Street will turn into a standing pond.
Abbeville City Councilman Brady Broussard Jr., who represents the area, said the project has already proven its worth.
“In the rainy season we are now in,” Broussard said, “it was not long to hear of the success of this drainage improvement project. Business owners in the S. Louisiana and Lafayette Street area have seen an intersection that no longer gets so much water on the street that intersection was sometimes closed.
“We are happy for those businesses and residents in both areas that can see the positive results of this project that was a decade in planning and state funding and implementation.”
The final walkthrough inspection took place on Tuesday. Work began a few weeks ago, and was originally expected to go into August.
“The contractor (LA-Contracting Enterprise, LLC) has exceeded expectations and finished ahead of schedule,” Broussard said.
The results are clear.
“When rain formerly stayed on the roads for some time in these areas, that is no longer the case,” Broussard said. “I received calls that water was receding from roadways much quicker than before the project.”
Piazza agreed.
“I took a picture that shows Lafayette Street after a torrential downpour,” Piazza said during last week’s city council meeting. “It shows that the sidewalks are visible. I don’t think I have ever seen the sidewalks without water on them after a torrential rain.
“This project obviously works very, very well.”
City Engineer Richard Primeaux said there are numerous features to the project that make it work.
“We added storage,” Primeaux said. “That was the key to making this work. We added storage and added inlets to get the water inside, so it wouldn’t affect people down stream. We have 30-inche pipes. It looks big, but it’s because we needed to add storage to accommodate further down line.
“That’s why you’re seeing the water go into the pipe, and not stay on top of the road and cover the intersection.”
This is the second major drainage project the city has taken on this year. Contractors made improvements around Second Street in May.
“Another part of the drainage improvements for the Godchaux Park area includes the Drainage Board cleaning Dick Hunter Coulee so it can carry more water out to the river,” Broussard said. “When the weather dries up, citizens should soon see asphalt patching and overlay for areas of the drainage project that required road cuts.”
While Mother Nature continues to throw plenty of rain the city’s way, drainage improvements are standing up to the test.
“The positive comments have come in to me, the Mayor (Mark Piazza) and city hall for weeks now,” Broussard said. “With these present thunderstorms that are dumping inches of rain on our city, compliments from Fifth Street, Franks Alley, Third and Fourth have all indicated immediate improvements are evident.”