President Matthew Jewell, the St. Charles Parish Council and the St. Charles Parish Department of Public Works are proud to celebrate the completion of one of three phases of roadway improvements and canal stabilization along Barber Road in Paradis. Parish officials gathered to celebrate the improvements and check on the progress of the phased project. 

“The failing canal bank was causing the edge of the road to slowly fall into the canal, so adding the bulkhead and addressing subsidence issues will prevent that from happening in the future,” President Matthew Jewell said. “This is a thoroughfare our school buses use to get to JB Martin and RJ Vial Schools, so not only does this protect our infrastructure, but it also protects our children.” 

Project features include a fresh mill and overlay the length of Barber Road, plus the addition of a shoulder to the road, improvements to subsurface culverts, and installation of sheet piles in the canal from Wisner St. to Louisiana St. The sheet piles improve not only the stability of the canal bank and road, but also the conveyance in the canal that leads to the Sunset Pump Station. The remaining phases of the project will include improvements from Wisner St. to LA-306, and from Louisiana St. to the dead-end past Eula St. 

The project broke ground in August 2023, and cost $2,945,202.69. The Barber Road Bank Stabilization Project was designed by Richard C. Lambert Consultants, LLC and built by Command Construction.