Property owners and residents in the area of West Prien Lake Road were invited to attend a community meeting this week to hear updates on an upcoming widening project.

The project — Capital Project No. 3177 — will widen W. Prien Lake Road from Cove Lane to Ihles Road. About a mile and a half of roadway on Prien Lake Road will be reconstructed and converted into a four-lane road. Sale Road will be turned into three lanes, with the inclusion of a five-lane signalized intersection on Sale and Prien Lake roads.

The project also includes two large drainage outfalls. The pre-existing outfall on Prien Lake Road will be upgraded from a 24-inch pipe to a 72-inch pipe, and a new outfall on Henderson Bayou Road will be installed to help mitigate drainage problems in the area. Cole Thompson, project engineer, said the outfalls are in addition to “pretty significant, but less flashy” upgrades to the wastewater and city water systems throughout the project area.

The project is being completed by Siema Construction, whose contract began in August of 2021. Three to four years prior to the start of the project, preliminary actions were conducted, including right-of-way acquisitions, he said.

The construction on Sale Road has been completed and the majority of the drainage upgrades on that road have been installed. All wastewater and city water improvements have been completed.

Construction on the portion of Prien Lake Road south of Sale Road is in process and is slated to be completed in the first half of March. Following the completion, Prien Lake Road and south Sale Road will be fully open to two-way traffic.

The construction will then move north. During this phase of construction, the portion of Sale Road to the roundabout will be southbound traffic only for about 10 months.

By spring 2025, the entire corridor is planned to be open to two-way traffic, and the project should be fully complete by the summer of 2025.

Dozens of residents attended the meeting, citing drainage as one of their most prevalent concerns  — including flooding that has happened following the construction in their neighborhoods.

Thompson confirmed the project has a remediation process to ensure drainage is maintained during the construction process.

Residents living on Henderson Bayou Road raised concerns regarding traffic congestion on that road, with many saying it will be difficult for homeowners to cross multiple lanes of traffic without a traffic light at the intersection.

While there are no plans to install a traffic light there, City Administrator John Cardone said as the project moves forward and a traffic study is conducted, that is something that could be considered.

The West Prien Lake Road Widening Project has been a “lengthy process” and a  “massive undertaking” due to the major drainage improvements that are occurring simultaneously with the widening project, he said — adding the city is working to “make sure that all the residents have access to their homes during the process.”

Mayor Nic Hunter admitted the project’s process has been “painful,” and explained that similar woes were experienced during the major construction projects on Lake Street and Nelson Road.

“I understand it is frustrating, and that frustration is justified. When you talk about other roads that have been widened, I think the majority of people, once they are finished, are happy that it happened. My hope is that once this project is completed, that we can all look back and say that we’re happy that we have gone through this painful moment.”

He promised to take the concerns raised regarding Henderson Bayou to the project engineers, saying final decisions will rely on their suggestions.

“At the end of the day, when we make a decision to do something or not do something with our roads, it’s got to be backed up by engineering.”

Cardone said homeowners with specific issues or concerns regarding drainage or ideas for how the project can be improved can contact the city directly at the Mayor’s Action Line via phone at 337-491-1346 or through email at mal@cityoflc.us.

All available information regarding the project can be accessed online at www.cityoflakecharles.com/prien.