Some residents of Goodwill Road off Highway 80 say the road needs to be repaired, and there is an issue with the speed limit.
Lee Hudson approached the Webster Parish Police Jury asking that something be done about the ruts in the road, and at one time had asked if they could use funds from the landfill to make the repairs.
“Every time I talk to my representative, he tells me there is no money,” he said.
Jury President Jim Bonsall explained the roads are on a priority list, and Goodwill Road has not been moved up on that list. Brad Graff, with Cothren, Graff and Smoak Engineering, along with WPPJ Public Works Superintendent Teddy Holloway, assess the roads each year, and it is according to those assessments as to how the roads are prioritized.
“We have to spend that money according to that priority list,” Bonsall said. “Bernard Hudson, District 5, is always talking about Goodwill Road and it is not forgotten. Sadly, we have several roads that are in the same shape as Goodwill Road.”
The Rev. George Rice, pastor of Growing Valley Baptist Church, thanked the jury for working on Fuller Road, but agreed with Hudson that Goodwill Road needs some work.
“It seems as though it should be a priority because it is an artery to Interstate 20,” Rice said. “One thing I do know is it’s tearing up cars, and it’s costing us a lot of money.”
He also said there needs to be consistency with the speed limit. The speed limit is 35 from the intersection of Fuller Road to Bellevue Road, and 45 across it.
“It seems that we are being penalized for being in the central area of the parish dump, and the last time I complained was about Fuller Road, and I thank you,” he said. “It’s much better. But something needs to be done about the speed limit on Goodwill Road.”
The difference in the speed limit is to slow down the 18 wheelers and bigger trucks, Juror Steve Ramsey said.
“We have done the speed limit to where regular traffic is at one speed and a different speed for truck traffic,” Ramsey said.
Ramsey said the road committee would look at how to best address the speed limit issue. There are several options, he said, one lowering or raising the speed limit to one across the board, or they could lower it for truck traffic and keep it at 45 mph for regular vehicles.
“We’ve only got so much money to fix things with,” Ramsey said. “We have 700 miles of parish roads, and $1 million or $2 million only goes so far in a year, but we’ll take care of the speed limit.”