[StBernard] Officials gather to kick off Submerged Roads Program in St. Bernard Parish

[Westley Annis]

Officials gather to kick off Submerged Roads Program in St. Bernard Parish
by The Times-Picayune 
Tuesday August 11, 2009, 10:05 AM
State and parish officials are gathered this morning in St. Bernard Parish
to break ground on the repairs for Jean Lafitte Parkway in Chalmette, one of
more than 50 roads being repaired through the South Louisiana Submerged
Roads Program.

The event at Torres Park, which is located at Jean Lafitte Parkway and Parc
Place, began at 10 a.m.

Like most streets in St. Bernard Parish, Jean Lafitte, which cuts through
the heart of Chalmette, was underwater during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. 

Speakers at this morning event are Connie Standige, assistant secretary of
operations for the state Department of Transportation and Development,
Regional Planning Commission Executive Director Walter Brooks, state Rep.
Nita Hutter of Chalmette and St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro.

The submerged roads program is financed by the Federal Highway
Administration. It seeks to repair roads impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and
Rita. The first phase of the program includes more than 50 street projects
in St. Bernard, Orleans and Jefferson parishes, totalling more than $100
million, the DOTD said in a news release