Council OKs traffic project

• By VIC COUVILLION
• Special to The Advocate
• Published: Oct 22, 2009 - Page: 5B

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HAMMOND — The City Council and Mayor Mayson Foster agreed to have a consulting engineering firm begin planning for improved traffic flow on U.S. 51 South near Interstate 12.

The council’s action Tuesday in endorsing the administration’s plan signals the beginning of a solution to traffic tie-ups at one of the city’s busiest intersections.

The growth of large truck stops, hotels and motels and the reopening of Hammond Square Mall have produced a bottleneck with frequent traffic snarls.

Foster said the state Department of Transportation and Development approved about $6 million to alter the flow of vehicles from I-12 south to Club Deluxe Road.

The mayor said DOTD approved the project for fiscal 2011-2012, but with the city paying for preliminary engineering, the process can be “speeded up considerably.”

Foster said Spangler Engineering, a Hammond firm, would be awarded a $270,000 to $300,000 contract to perform preliminary work.

Chuck Spangler, a civil engineer, told the council that DOTD settled on a plan to install two “roundabouts” on U.S. 51 South, with one just south of I-12 and the other at the Club Deluxe Road intersection.

The council also agreed Tuesday to take up a proposed ordinance that would prohibit sex offenders from entering Hammond city parks and public recreational facilities.

Detective Chad Hill of the Hammond Police Department said 53 registered sex offenders now live within the city limits, and that 294 reside throughout Tangipahoa Parish.

In another matter, the council agreed to allow Foster to enter into an agreement with the Louisiana Children’s Discovery Museum on Cypress Street in downtown Hammond

City Attorney Andre Coudrain urged the step be taken because the city cannot directly contribute to a private organization. He said to contribute, the city has to sign a cooperative endeavor agreement showing the private venture is making contributions to the city.

The museum has received about $673,000 in revenue from video bingo parlors in the city since 2006.