ST. LANDRY PARISH — OPELOUSAS, La. — The St. Landry Parish Council met Wednesday afternoon to review the 2025 budget, which includes funding for a $3 million road improvement project for Nap Lane in District 11.
John Miller, a long-time resident of Nap Lane, has witnessed the worsening conditions of the road firsthand. "When I first came here, traffic wasn’t bad at all," Miller said.
But now, Miller says the road has seen an increase in traffic due to the development of nearby subdivisions, leading to further deterioration of its narrow, damaged surface.
Miller described the road’s current state: "It’s in poor condition, it’s narrow, and it just breaks off." He also expressed concern about the safety of drivers, explaining that several vehicles have ended up in the ditch due to the lack of a shoulder. "People feel threatened, they do not want to get into a head on collision and end up driving too close to the edge, where there’s no shoulder at all."
Miller added that crews have been called out multiple times to remove cars from the ditch. "We’ve had to call a wrecker several times because cars have gone into the ditch across the street," he said.
In 2024, Parish President Jessie Bellard spoke about the parish’s efforts to secure state funding for the road’s repair. "The road is so expensive to fix that we can't do it with our own funds," Bellard explained at the time.
The newly proposed 2025 budget now lists the Nap Lane project at a total of $3 million. According to Councilman LeJeune, the project will require a full reconstruction of the road.
"The reason for the cost is that it will be a complete reconstruction," LeJeune explained. "The whole road needs to be redone. We have to widen it due to the heavy traffic, and to do that, we need to install underground drainage and move power lines."
Additionally, the project will include a turning lane from Hwy 182 to improve safety for vehicles entering and exiting Nap Lane.
"This won’t be a short project," LeJeune added. "It’ll probably take about a year and a half to complete."
LeJeune confirmed that the $3 million for the project will come from state funding. However, there is currently no set date for when the work will begin.
