Baton Rouge residents speak out about bad roads

BATON ROUGE, LA (NBC33) — "It's just a mess," Baton Rouge resident Mary George.

Mary George lives off of Greenway Drive and Greenwell Springs Road in Baton Rouge. The house where she lives has flooded twice. The Department of Public Works came out to try and fix the problem five years ago by digging ditches outside her front yard. She says though every time D.P.W. shows up, they seem to make the situation worse.

"What they do whey they come out here is make a bigger mess then what it was before," says George
David Guilllory is with the city-parish Public Works Department. He says he understands George's frustration, but the ditches are necessary for the safety of the area.

“The ditches are very important although they are a hassle to maintain. They can be unsightly. They're very important to the drainage in those areas. Most areas that do have open ditches were prone to flooding which is why the ditches are there in the first place," says Guillory.

Guillory went on to say because of budget cuts his department hasn't been able to get enough funding to fix all the roads quickly, but with one fatality and several injuries in the area due in part to bad road conditions though councilwoman Ronnie Edwards believes money from grants and other sources are necessary so that more lives aren't lost.

"There's a lot of competition for that funding, but i think when you can make a case that folks’ lives are at risk beyond what the average situation or circumstances may be. Then that certainly justifies that they should be moved up on the list of priorities," says Edwards.

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