By K. WESLEY WHITE SR.
Special to The Advocate

LUTCHER, LA. - The Ponchartrain Levee District board agreed to pay for a study of a proposed 122-mile paved bicycle path that would be built atop Mississippi River levees in six south Louisiana parishes.

The study by the SJB Group of Baton Rouge will determine whether the bicycle path is feasible, the obstacles that would prevent its completion and possible funding sources, said Tommy Martinez, SJB’s director of governmental relations.

Martinez told the district’s commissioners at their meeting Wednesday that if funded, the study should take three to six months to complete.

“The big areas of concern are where do we place rest or break areas and how do we go around obstacles,” Martinez said. “We have pipelines running on top of the levee and we’ll have to figure out how to handle that.”

Martinez said the bike path could serve as an economic development tool because users would likely patronize businesses located adjacent to the path.

“I’ve also talked to Homeland Security. Once completed, it may be used to as an alternative evacuation route during an emergency,” he said.

Commissioners approved paying $62,500 as their share of the study’s cost. Parishes making up the district will each contribute $12,500 to the project, officials said.

Steven Wilson, president of the Levee District’s board, said that the bike path will save the board thousands of dollars every year.

“Once the bike path has been built, we won’t need to constantly replace the limestone,” Wilson said. Crushed limestone is used for the roadbed that runs atop the levee.

When completed, the path would run from East Baton Rouge Parish to St. Charles Parish, Martinez said. East Baton Rouge and St. Charles parishes already have several miles of existing bicycle paths that would be incorporated into the final project, Martinez also said.

Commissioner Robert Roussel voted against funding the study.

“I just believe that we can better spend the Ponchartrain Levee District’s money,” Roussel said.

Martinez also said that any design will take into account the annual Christmas Eve bonfire traditions in the Lutcher-Gramercy areas of St. James Parish by probably diverting the path from the top of the levee to near the adjacent River Road.

“There are many innovative ideas out there,” he said. “We won’t destroy this tradition.”

Story originally published in The Advocate