MessageFrom: Chuck Le Mieux [clemieux@inascension.com]
Sent: Friday, January 12, 2007 9:50 AM
To: 'Roy Schmidt'
Subject: Highway 61 resurfacing
Cc: Adrian Thompson (athompson@apgov.us); Alvin W. Thomas (athomas@apgov.us);
Ascension Sheriff; Council District 4 (cfontenot@apgov.us); Council District 5 (dlambert@apgov.us);
Council District 6 (jsavoy@apgov.us); Doug Hillensbeck (dhillensbeck@apgov.us);
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(rmiller@theadvocate.com); Paul Gates; Allen Tumey; Avery Davidson; Donna Britt;
George Sells; Greg Meriwether; Jeanne Burns; Jim Shannon; Julie Baxter; Kellee
Hennessy; Marie Centanni; Matt Williams; Whitney Vann ; Andrea Clesi; Cassandra
Garnas; Chelby Kosto; Claire Hatty; John Pastorek; Ken Pastorick; Michael Marsh;
Scott Satchfield; Sylvia Weatherspoon; Todd Ross; Tony Jones; Veronica Mosgrove
Mr. Schmidt,
I would like to know what is taking so long to complete the 5 + mile resurfacing
of Highway 61.
Also why haven't the intersections and crossovers been resurfaced? These areas
are so bad that you have to slow down to almost zero in order not to cause
damage to your vehicle. On top of this it causes major backups because the
traffic lights are set at to short a time to allow a sufficient number of
vehicles to pass.
Chuck Le Mieux
clemieux@inascension.com
http://www.inascension.com
225-677-8670
August 31, 2000
State of
Louisiana
Department of Transportation and Development
Mr. Ronald Carter
P O Box 831
Baton Rouge, La 70821
Re: Notice of unsafe road conditions existing at the intersection of Highway 61 and Highway 44, Gonzales
Dear Sir:
Senate Bill 858 was passed into law by governor Foster in the 1999 regular session. My interpretation of the act, in laymen’s terms is, that just because a road does not comply with standards set by federal guidelines does not mean it's unreasonably dangerous. It must be proven that the failure to meet the standard requirements was the proximate cause of an accident because of it resulting in an unreasonably dangerous condition.
It is also my understanding that because of this law, that the state and/or parish, must be put on notice before they can be held liable for property damage, injury, or death due to the safety discrepancies that exist for that particular road in a court of law.
With receipt of this letter, consider the State of Louisiana put on notice as to the unsafe conditions existing at the intersection of Highway 61 and Highway 44, Gonzales, using the following descriptions.
The left turn signal in the southbound lane of Highway 61 at the intersection of Highway 44 stays green for five or 6 seconds. This is causing motorists frustration, and causing them to turn left against a red light creating the possibility of injury or death.
While I point out one certain area with a particular safety issue, be advised that there are numerous safety hazards the entire length of Highway 61. E.g., other traffic lights with abnormalities, warning signs, reflectors, guardrails, dangerous crossovers, and in my opinion speed limits much too high for the amount of industry and businesses building along this highway The complete extent of the hazards for Highway 61 need to be investigated by the Department of Transportation and Development to insure that all safety hazards be found and remedied with all possible haste.
Be advised, if there is any property damage, injury, or death after the date of this notice on Highway 61 at the intersection of Highway 44, or for any of the other safety hazards I have mentioned about Highway 61, I will do my utmost to bring this notice to the attention of those involved and their attorneys.
This letter and its attachments have been published to the web site Inside Ascension Parish at http://inascension.com on the “Our Roads Page”.
Chuck Le Mieux
Cc/Fax to:Mr. Anthony Falterman Ascension Parish District Attorney
Mr. Jeff Wiley Ascension Parish Sheriff
Mr. John (Juba) Diez Louisiana State Representative
Channel 9 TV
Channel 33 TV
Cc/email to:
Mr. Harold Marchand Ascension Parish President
Ms. Patricia Cook Ascension Parish Secretary
The Ascension Parish Council c/o Mr. R. Loupe
Mr. Bill Roux Ascension Parish Public Works
Mr. Doyle Mitchell Ascension Parish Public Works
Mr. Jeff Wiley Ascension Parish Sheriff c/o Mr. Tony Bacala
Ms. Jennifer Sheffield Channel Two Road Patrol
Ms. Keisha Lacour Channel 2 Two On Your Side
Mr. J. Connelly Channel 2 News Room
Mr. John MacMillan The Advocate’s River Parish Office
Mr. David Young The Gonzales Weekly
Mr. David Young The Community Mirror
Mr. David Young Ascension Parish TV
The Ascension Citizen
