BY KERI CHAMPION

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE- A new restaurant has brought not only another choice for eating out, but new road construction as well.

The construction for the new turning lane into Raising Cane’s is almost complete with little else to do but install a new light that will allow patrons of the restaurant direct access to the parking lot. The intersection will be equipped with a left turn arrow. The turning lane is on the left hand side of the westbound lanes at the intersection of Hwy. 61 and Hwy. 51.

Trevelle Daniels, an engineer intern for Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) oversaw the project and said the arrow will be added, but that Cane’s still had to finish the concrete driveway at the side nearest Hwy 51 before the lane can be used.

Daniels said the bid was awarded to Barriere Construction and that Raising Cane’s is footing the bill for the new construction.

Brad Sanders, a representative of Raising Cane’s said that it is normal for the restaurant to provide the money for construction of lanes that provide direct access to their restaurants

&#8220It is our job to make sure that customers of Cane’s have safe and easy access to the restaurant. It’s important to our business. Right now, people coming to eat there from the west side have to make a U-turn down the road to get onto the property, and we didn’t want them to have to do that,” he said.

In order to get the road built, the company had to get permission from DOTD because the construction was on state roads.

&#8220The turning lane was part of the development plan form the start. It just took a little longer to apply for the permit than we anticipated,” he explained.

Sanders said they are also paying to have the left arrow light installed so that the road will have the correct lights in place.

&#8220The concrete driveway and the correct arrow light should be completed by early February. It should be operational before Mardi Gras,” he said.