The Calcasieu Parish Police Jury last week presented more than $1.77 million in grants to assist local entities with road and drainage improvement projects in Sulphur, Moss Bluff, Vinton and Iowa.

Tim Conner, parish engineer, said the money comes from this year’s Road and Drainage Trust Fund program. The Police Jury normally awards $1 million from the fund each year, but he said there were additional funds this year because some past-year projects were withdrawn or were below estimated cost.

Gravity Drainage District 8 of Ward 1 received $500,000 to assist in the Belfield Ditch improvement project in the Moss Bluff area. Conner said the ditch’s watershed, which spans between North Perkins Ferry Road and Belfield Road, will be widened and cross drains will be replaced at Belfield and Stafford roads.

The grant money covers about 12 percent of the project’s nearly $4.1 million price tag, Conner said.

The city of Sulphur received $500,000 to remove and replace the West Crocker Street bridge. Conner said the new concrete bridge will improve drainage and will increase the time between replacements.

The project’s total cost is $1,375,000, with the grant covering 36 percent of that total.

Gravity Drainage District 7 of Ward 8 received $300,000 for improvements to a drainage lateral near Iowa. Conner said the project costs $3 million.

The town of Vinton received $246,500 for two road construction projects. One involves the reconstruction of Big Woods Road from La. 3063 to the city limits. The other calls for paving Railroad Avenue from Stevenson Street to Horridge Street. The entire project costs $616,650.

The town of Iowa received $150,000 for drainage improvements along Kinney Avenue. Conner said that crews will install concrete pipe and catch basins from the roadway’s intersection with David Street, heading north to a drainage lateral.

“The intent is to alleviate drainage concerns along Kinney Avenue,” he said. “Currently, they are experiencing some flooding during heavy rains, and existing ditches don’t have the capacity to carry the volume of water to the outfall.”

The project’s total cost is $300,000.

Gravity Drainage District 4 of Ward 3 will get $76,000 to help fund improvements to a drainage lateral on Country Club Road. Conner said the project involves installing reinforced concrete pipe and catch basins. Along with drainage improvements, he said the work will also address safety concerns of the existing open ditch.

The project costs $190,000.

Conner said each entity makes funding requests from the trust fund program, and that the applications are awarded based on a point system. He said the points are assigned based on different categories, including the amount of matching funds, the number of residents who are directly impacted, daily traffic or drainage flow and the last time an entity was awarded funds from the fund.(MGNonline)