THE POST-SIGNAL / Steve Bandy
Officials are hoping that the extension of Frontage Road in Duson will open up economic development that will benefit both the town and Acadia Parish. Ground-breaking ceremonies were held on the afternoon of Friday, March 16 at the end of the current roadbed to mark the start of construction. “Hopefully, weather permitting, actual construction will start Monday morning,” said in a recent Crowley Post-Signal Article Mayor Johnny Thibodeaux of the nearly half-mile stretch that will parallel Interstate 10 on the northeast corner of its intersection with Louisiana Highway 95.
The road will be offset from the interstate enough to allow development on both sides, according to Thibodeaux. Funded by a state Capital Outlay grant of $508,000, along with $280,000 of municipal funds, the area, when the project is complete, will not only have a new road, “but water, sewerage and electricity,” Thibodeaux said. “We’re going to have lights the entire length of the roadway. The town is investing heavily into this project. Easement for the 2,450-foot roadway was granted by Shane and Debbie Spallino, owners of Cajun Claws Seafood Boilers and the large tract of property adjacent to it.
Dr. Shawn Wilson, Louisiana’s Department of Transportation and Development secretary, congratulated Duson on the project. “This will open up this area for development, much like what we have right here,” Wilson said during a brief ceremony inside Cajun Claws. “This will add sustainability; it will add economic development; it will add quality of life for the town and this entire area.” Wilson noted that Duson is situated along I-10, which he said is probably the most-traveled roadway in the state. “This corridor takes traffic from Los Angeles to Long Beach then down to Miami,” he said, estimating that 80,000 vehicles drive through Duson daily. Also on hand for the ceremonies were three former members of the state Legislature, Jack Montoucet, Don Cravins and Nick Gautreaux, the latter of whom served as an impromptu master of ceremonies.
Thibodeaux singled out Montoucet, who, as a state representative, introduced the capital outlay proposal and fought to see it through to fruition. For his efforts, the now secretary of the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries was presented a plaque from the town. “You don’t get these by yourself,” Montoucet said after he was presented the token of appreciation. Pointing out individuals in the audience, Montoucet recognized Laurie Suire, president and CEO of OneAcadia; Jimmie Pellerin, Acadia Parish Police Juror; the Spallinos, who donated the easement for the road, and others. “Y’all all do a great job,” he said.
But Montoucet said he was particularly grateful to former senators Cravins and Gautreaux, who alerted him when, after his capital outlay proposal had passed the House, that funding for Duson had been removed on the Senate floor.
In appreciation of his efforts in obtaining a state Capital Outlay grant while he was a state representative, LDWF Secretary Jack Montoucet, left, was pre- sented a plaque by Duson Mayor Johnny Thibodeaux during ceremonies Friday marking the start of construction of an extension to Frontage Road there.
“If I didn’t have guys like Don and Nick looking out for me – and for you – it wouldn’t have been done.”
Montoucet added thanks to Wilson “for what you do for us in Acadiana.”
In closing, the former representative said, “It was a pleasure for me to represent you because you’re my kind of people. This is a great day for Duson, a great day for Acadia Parish.”
Rep. John Stefanski, who succeeded Montoucet as the representative for District 42, echoed those sentiments in a brief statement.
“This is truly a great day,” he said. “It reminds us that areas like Duson and our smaller communities are not forgotten.” Standing under the awning in front of Cajun Claws after the ceremonial ground-breaking, Mayor Thibodeaux was unable to hide his excitement with the project and its implications for the future of his town. He referred to a years-old study of Acadia Parish that he said specifically mentioned that Exit 92 was “the prime spot for development” in the parish.
