Central mayor speaks to residents about Wax Road smoothing project

CENTRAL, La. (Louisiana First) — Residents of Central are voicing their concerns about traffic backups due to a construction project to fix potholes on Wax Road.

A recent issue with a large truck sparked extra conversation, as Mayor Evans says soft shoulders along the road due to that construction caused the truck to come off the road.

Mayor Wade Evans with the City of Central says he sympathizes with people who live along Wax Road.

“The potholes were so bad on the road, we couldn’t keep up with fixing them. It affects every resident that travels that road – business owners, through traffic – it affects people who live on that road – it’s a dusty mess and a noise racket during the day,” Mayor Evans said.

He says this project to eventually make Wax Road smooth involves flipping one side of the road’s material and smoothing it out on the other side.
               
“What we’ve been doing is flipping the whole lane at one time, causing tremendous delays, so the contractor agreed to change their means and method to get that done and accommodate that,” Evans mentioned.

The mayor says the project is set to be fully complete in five months.

In the meantime, he suggests using alternate routes.

“I encourage people who are coming across the bridge and need to go to Hooper Road to take a right on Greenwell Springs Road or Highway 37, to go to Hooper. If you need to go to Hooper Road and have a big truck, I encourage you to go south, and go around, and go down Joor Road to Hooper Road. Also, consider going to the plants a different way, maybe down Choctaw Road. It’s a pain right now, and we know people are inconvenienced. But, if we could use alternate routes, it will create less inconvenience for people who absolutely have to be there,” Mayor Evans said.

Evans says within a week, he’ll create maps for the public with more information about the project.

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