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'It's been a complete mess:' Aging bridge disrupts bus routes in St. Francisville
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ST FRANCISVILLE - Parents in one St. Francisville neighborhood are frustrated after West Feliciana Parish Schools stopped buses from crossing potentially weak bridges, making it difficult for students to get to school. The parish president said landowners in that neighborhood are slowing progress.
Blackmore Road is a dead-end street with a bridge crossing Grants Bayou West Fork. The weight limit for the bridge is five tons. One parent, who asked not to be identified, said the bridge should have been fixed before students started school.
"They said the bridge was weak, it can't carry over 10 tons," she said.
West Feliciana Schools Director of Transportation Rod Lemoine said for a school bus to cross, the bridge would need to be rated at 10 to 15 tons. The parent said there have been issues with the new bus stop sites.
"[The bus] comes at different times, sometimes the kids miss the bus," she said.
Angela White, another parent, found out in July that the school bus could no longer cross the bridge. She said that since school started, the bus stop has changed every week.
"My daughter has missed the bus because we never know what time or where to have her up the street, it's been a complete mess," White said.
White said at one point, students were being picked up at the intersection of Blackmore Road and Hwy. 965, which is a busy roadway with speeding cars.
There are also consequences for missing the bus.
"It's sad because if the kids start missing school, then you have truancy. We're having to go to court for truancy, and tardies because they don't make it to the bus," White said.
Parish President Kenneth Havard said West Feliciana has made efforts to fix the Blackmore Road Bridge for three years now. He said two bridges need repair, the Blackmore Road Bridge and the Canfield Bridge. The parish wants to close one bridge and use a stretch of land crossing three yards as a right-of-way so people can still leave the neighborhood while the work happens.
"We asked for a work right-of-way for about a month or so, so we could get one of the bridges repaired, the landlords won't allow us to do it," Havard said.
Landowners shared concerns from the last time their yards were used as a right-of-way, citing property damage and traffic worries. One said the updated right-of-way paperwork was never received.
Either way, a decision must be made whether to appropriate land or shut the bridge down as it continues to age.
"We asked for a work right-of-way for about a month or so so we could get one of the bridges repaired, the landlords told us no," Havard said. "If we keep on, we'll just have to shut the bridge. They'd be stuck back there, that's why I'm saying we need to fix the bridge."
White said there must be a compromise.
"I just can't see living somewhere where you can't leave, that's like being a prisoner, that's crazy," White said.
In an e-mail to WBRZ, West Feliciana Parish Schools said they were aware of the bridge issue and asked concerned parents to reach out for more information regarding alternate bus stops.
White said she reached out to the West Feliciana Parish Schools Transportation Director and inquired about bringing a different mode of transportation to pick up students such as vans or shuttles. White said she had not heard back.
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