Are there any plans in the future to completely four-lane La. 378 between Moss Bluff and Westlake?

The state Department of Transportation and Development completed a study on widening the highway in December 2013 and is now working to find funding for the project, said Deidra Druilhet, DOTD spokeswoman.

Highway department officials at a public meeting in Westlake in September 2013 presented the three design alternatives they had drawn up for the project.

Alternative A features curves where Westwood Road meets Phillips Road and where Phillips meets Davis Road. One option for the plan includes a roundabout at the Phillips-Davis-Roberts Road intersection.

Alternative B features a realignment of the highway, which would run at an angle from Hudson Road to where Philips and Davis meet, along with roundabouts at a half dozen or so intersections.

Alternative C features a route that runs through Sam Houston Jones State Park and would require the construction of two bridges.

To view maps of the alternatives, along with other project materials, visit the DOTD’s website, type “H.009488” into the search box at the top right and click the magnifying glass.

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Online: wwwsp.dotd.la.gov.

Barbe baseball field site of two projects

I have noticed a lot of construction activity at the Barbe High School baseball field. I was just wondering how this activity was being funded.

Holly Holland, Calcasieu Parish school system spokeswoman, said workers completed two projects at the field.

“The major project was the construction of a low brick fence inside the field from dugout to dugout which now anchors the safety net. All costs, including labor and materials for the fence construction, were funded by the Barbe High School baseball program,” Holland wrote in an email.

“The second project involved the construction of a bullpen protection fence in left field to protect pitchers warming up before and during the games. The bullpen protection fence materials were provided by the Barbe High School baseball program, with the labor provided by the Calcasieu Parish School Board Maintenance Department.”

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Online: www.cpsb.org.

Courthouse cannon from Battle of Bulge

I grew up in Lake Charles. I’ve often wondered about the old cannon at the courthouse. I’d like to know if you’ve got any information on it.

The Informer last addressed a question about the cannon, once used by the German army, on Sept. 4. What it wrote:

The cannon, a 150 mm World War II-era howitzer, was given to Calcasieu Parish by the U.S. War Department in 1948. It replaced a Great War-era cannon that was donated for scrap during the Second World War.

“The German trophy cannon, a familiar sight on the courthouse lawn since it was presented to the parish in 1919, may be returned to Germany or sent to Japan with explosive force behind it, or it may become part of some machinery of war,” reads a story from the Sept. 2, 1942, edition of the American Press.

“The police jury this morning donated it to the army emergency scrap drive after a brief request for the big gun had been presented by Charles A. Richardson, commander of W. B. Williamson post, American Legion.”

The howitzer, designed to fire an 83-pound projectile, was used during the Battle of the Bulge in 1944.

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The Informer answers questions from readers each Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. It is researched and written by Andrew Perzo, an American Press staff writer. To ask a question, call 494-4098 and leave voice mail, or email informer@americanpress.com.