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continued from page 33
year low, Sevante says. That means dwindling
revenues.
“Because of all this relocation and redevelopment,
you saw a spike in our revenue
(post-Katrina),” Sevante says. “But that flattened
out and now has actually started to
decline to 2004 levels.”
Two of the projects center on state
Highway 21 and Interstate 12, just south of
Covington, and went to bid in March. One
will improve the intersection of Brewster
and Highway 21, and another will improve
interchanges between the highway and the
interstate. These projects will total $11.4
million and should complement a lanewidening
project already completed on the
highway north of the interstate.
Champagne, as he spoke, happened to be
driving on Highway 21, from Mandeville to
Covington. He makes the trip frequently, and the
completed work has cut his drive time roughly in
half, depending on the time of day, he says.
Champagne directly attributes the arrival
of small businesses and grocery outlets
along the highway to the lane widening, but
the additional projects are needed to continue
easing congestion.
“You come down to one lane going south
on 21, and there is kind of an abrupt stop,”
Champagne says.
The interchange at Highway 21 and
Interstate 12 is one of three marked for
improvement and, at $19.9 million, the projects
command the lion’s share of stimulus money
being employed in the parish. Interchange projects
at highways 21 and 59 went out to bid in
March, and another bid at U.S. Highway 190 is
under way with an 18-month timeline.
“
We are
at an
infrastructure
deficit. ”
JEAN CHAMPAGNE
past chairman of the
St. Tammany West Chamber
of Commerce
34 April/May 2010