Parish engineering seeks funds for $14M Bayou Bonfuka pond and multiple road and drainage projects; DOTD policy change adds approvals

Daniel Hill, St. Tammany Parish director of engineering, told the Finance and Infrastructure Committee that the administration has prepared a midyear capital amendment to accelerate drainage and roadway projects and to cover needed matching funds on state-road work.

"I'm calling this the midyear budget amendment since it's midyear," Hill said, explaining the request bundles funding to finish projects, purchase land for ponds and match state agreements. He said one of the largest items is the Bayou Bonfuka regional detention pond, for which current construction estimates are "around $14 million" and for which the parish needs land-acquisition and wetlands mitigation funding.

Hill also listed other parish priorities included in the package: funds to complete milling and paving and a temporary traffic signal at Ben Thomas Road, right-of-way and match obligations for Carol Road and other state-corridor projects, Forest Brook and Woodridge subdivision drainage design and right-of-way acquisition, the LA 1085/1077 pond (land purchase estimated at $2 million in the packet), intersection reconfigurations at Stafford Road (LA 437) and a roundabout match at LA 1077 Brewster.

He warned the committee that the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development has changed its internal policy: what had been a permit-based administrative process for parish work on state roads is now a "highway modification request" that requires a cooperative agreement with DOTD and council approval before the parish can proceed. "They call it a highway modification request now which requires a CA between the parish and the state," Hill said, noting the added step will require council action and may slow delivery on state-road projects.

Council members questioned how much the change will delay projects and whether the parish should increase advocacy with state legislators and DOTD leadership; Hill said he is optimistic the process will improve over time but conceded it adds complexity in the near term. Council members asked staff to break out the requested amounts for each project and to flag which items are parish-only versus state-match responsibilities.

The committee discussed prioritization and noted many of the projects have prior studies, FEMA or other grant prospects, and that the parish will continue to pursue state and federal funding where feasible. Staff also noted some projects already have matching agreements on record with DOTD; others do not and need formal cooperative agreements before work can proceed.

Next steps: committee members asked staff to provide line-item estimates and to return with details on legal and right-of-way steps; several members signaled support for pursuing available grants and state programming to limit parish outlays.