OPELOUSAS, La. — The city of Opelousas is plagued with significant road issues.
"They really need to do something about this street. The water leak; they fix it for a couple of months, and then boom, here it comes again," said Marlean Davis, a 20-year-old resident.
"I am sick and tired of this; I am an old lady; I cannot walk all the way across here to put my garbage. People will not pass in front of my house,"
People who reside along Merrill Road are faced with a bumpy situation.
"My truck bounced in the hole, and I bounced up, and my head hit the top of my truck," said Rosella Fontenot, another resident tucked along the rocky road.
The roads are covered in deep potholes, making it hard for people to travel down.
"I said I would never come back here anymore; they fixed that one side, and now the other side is messed up," said Fontenot.
Driving along the path is hard enough, but taking out the trash is even worse.
"I am sick and tired of this; I am an old lady. I cannot walk all the way across here to put my garbage. The garbage truck will not pass in front of my house," said Davis.
"I can't walk all the way down to the end of the road to take out the trash. I need a hip replacement; I do not need to be doing all that," said Jacqueline Pitre.
Merrill Road is one of many streets with the issue. Located on Vine Street, a major water leak break leads to nasty potholes.
"I came, and boom boom," said an upset driver, Jonathan Batiste, who fell victim to the pothole.
Batiste travels down this road daily, and just the other day, not realizing the pothole, his car clashed with the crater.
"I hit it real hard and, um, and it bent my rims and this one," said Batiste.
He claims the potholes damage his car and is unhappy about it.
"And this one two...it put a dent in this tire. One looks flat. It is rough all over this town; the roads are rough here in Opelousas," said Batiste.
"If I had money, I would move so fast away from this place, I would make their heads spin," said Davis.
We contacted the city, and they have been to both sites. The city says they've fixed the road twice in the last ten months and recently made more repairs, but it seems the leak has returned. To fix the issue, Travis Vanwright, Director of Public Works, says they plan to replace a section of the line so they can stop the leak.
Once the water leak has been fixed, the potholes will be addressed.
"Right now, we only have four crewmen trying to fix every leak in the city, so we plan to bring contractors to start catching up on some of these leaks. We are also applying for permits on Vine; the only issue is that we are waiting for a date to honor the permits," said Vanwright.
On November 18th, the city will place a tax millage on the ballot. The millage will provide additional funds to tackle leaks more effectively.
"We could bring in more contractors, replace service lines, clean more canals, and more. The city would benefit if it passes," said Vanwright.
