September 2, 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 73 and Interstate 10, 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 73 and Interstate 10,
Gonzales, using the following descriptions.
The left turn signal
in the southbound lane of Highway 73 at the intersection of Highway 73 and
Interstate 10 stays green for two or three 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 73. 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 homes
and businesses building along this highway The complete extent of the hazards
for Highway 73 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 at the
intersection of Highway 73 and Interstate 10, or for any of the other safety
hazards I have mentioned about Highway 73, 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
