Plainview Road

Dear Editor,

Thank you for recognizing the outstanding job Representative Frankie Howard is doing in having the state accept its responsibility to maintain State Highway Plainview Road in your report on “$3.75 million awarded by the state for Plainview Road rehabilitation.”

I would like to correct one common misunderstanding. The State did not transfer this state highway to the parishes in 1976 or at any other time. In actuality, the state completely overlaid this highway in 1976 on State Project 713-39-07 as approved by The State Chief Engineer D.D. White, two years after the state passed legislations defining state roads. The parishes were forced to minimally maintain this highway in later years, using funds that should have been used on parish roads due to neglect by the state. Four people have died in single car accidents with the condition of the road a contributing factor.

You should also know that in 1956, duly authorized agents of the State of Louisiana came to the property owners in both parishes and told them the state wished to build a modern state highway over and across their property. These agents of the state and the property owners entered into a legal and binding contract for the state to build a modern state highway over and across their land. The state compensated the property owners for their property with a contractual agreement to construct, improve and maintain a modern state highway over their land.

Plainview Road rests on state owned right-of-way today.

Having the state accept its legal obligation to maintain this state highway will improve conditions for those who live along Plainview Road as well as communities it serves.

Additionally, thanks to Representative Frankie Howard, funds the parishes have been forced to use on this state highway will now be available to better maintain our parish roads.
Sincerely,
Leo Fitzenreiter
Hornbeck, LA