The Livingston Parish Infrastructure Committee, led by Councilmembers Erin Sandefur, Ricky Goff, and Lonnie Watts, held their regular meeting on July 15, 2026 wherein they discussed an update for a new road expansion project at Juban as well as an exciting update on the development of Cook Road.
Juban Road Extension Project
The first item the committee discussed was a road expansion project concerning the creation of a new 1.2 mile road connecting from Lockheart to the roundabout at 190, lining up with Burgess road, that, according to Councilman Goff, will “help give us some more North-South access to the interstate and maybe help Denham Springs and Walker too.”
Currently, the engineering department is in the process of doing a traffic study on the road to determine traffic counts, where traffic slows, and where the traffic travels to and from. Additionally, a topographical survey was also completed for the entire Juban Road project and while there may be some parts of the roundabout that need to be redone, progress is steadily being made with other aspects of the project. A cultural survey for the road is also expected to begin soon, and Representative Chad Bacas stated that residents may find inspectors knocking on their doors to ask about the area’s environmental information.
Furthermore, Bacas stated that the project’s traffic analysis has been completed and sent in to the DOTD but the completion of the roundabout is what is currently affecting the completion of the ongoing traffic study.
“I think the biggest issue with the traffic study for the project is that the roundabout that’s just now getting completed will have to have some modifications to it,” Bacas explained. “We’re currently trying to work with the DOTD… to reevaluate that so we can do as minimal as we can to that roundabout.”
P1 capital outlay funds are currenting financing some of the road extension project, and while the department didn't ask for any more this fiscal year, they will be asking for more P1 funds next fiscal year due to more planning prep and completing environmental studies. CRPC also committed 10 million for the construction aspects of the project. Capital outlay requires a 25% match for the project’s funding and CRPC requires a 20% match.
“We’re still short as far as the total project funding for it, but we definitely have funding to get through this planning phase, at least for next year… to kind of get to that stage where we’ll have a plan already set,” Bacas added.
Gerald Burns from the Livingston Parish Planning and Zoning Commission attended the meeting and discussed how he has been working on the juban road project for 16 years.
“Everybody knows how important it is,” Commissioner Burns told the committee. “I know Livingston Parish needs this road.”
“We’re gonna try to get it moving,” Councilman Goff added. “This project’s gonna… connect it all together, and I truly believe that it’s gonna help Denham Springs’ traffic as well as Walker’s traffic.”
Road Classification Criteria Manual
After hearing the update about the new road project, the committee heard a breakdown of a draft for a comprehensive Road Classification Criteria Manual.
Civil Engineer Kresten Brown discussed how the manual is simply a “placeholder” and “starting point for these discussions” on labeling and classifying all parish roadways to ensure uniform road requirements and construction standards. Comparing it to the Drainage Criteria Manual, Brown continued to note that this manual will “set the stage, build out all the details, and tweak those details” of road classification so that the involved parties “[won’t have] to come back every single time [they] want an adjustment.”
Essentially, the manual’s classifications will allow for the committee to tag roadways based on their criteria so that they can, for example, provide guidance on what the required right of way or setback will be for the road’s construction.
“I’m sure you all feel the pain when we have a 35 foot or a 40 foot right of way that we’re trying to upgrade, and you don’t have drainage, you don’t have utility room, you don’t have the room to do that.” Brown told the committee. “As developments occur, as things require classification, or as there are a need for improvements, this is sort of a roadmap… on how we start to lay that stuff out in a somewhat planned fashion in order to support that effort.”
Brown explained that some traffic averages will also be taken into consideration when classifying roadways. For roads that average less than 400 vehicles per day, those may be classified as “neighborhood streets” with more rural and urban streets receiving their own classifications as needed.
However, some streets may be classified in certain ways despite where they are located. As Brown described, “even within a neighborhood, if we start to have 1,000 vehicles a day on that neighborhood street, maybe it’s not just a “neighborhood street” anymore… maybe it should have a little additional right of way so that we could squeeze a turn lane in somewhere if need be.”
As the manual is still in its introductory phase, no action was taken on it by the committee other than to review what has been compiled so far.
Update on Cook Road
Councilman Goff then asked for an impromptu update on the progress made so far on Cook Road.
According to Brown, July 27th will mark when the road will have its final acceptance walk where the parish representative, DOTD, job contractor, and the engineering team will check the road for any imperfections that still need to be addressed. If nothing is noted as an issue during that walk, then the road may be able to open “as soon as that evening.”
Brown noted that the contractor is actually ahead of schedule for project completion since there were a lot of sections of the roadway that had no utilities that needed to be relocated during the construction process.
“These projects take decades, so making a pivot like that, as quick as it was, I think really does show the support for it,” Brown said.
