DUSON, La. (KLFY) — In Duson, residents on Hunters Hill Drive are fearing for their safety after drainage issues have flooded this street on multiple occasions.
“I moved here in 2017 and there’s been 4 or 5 times that it’s flooded several feet above the road,” said homeowner Nicholas Leger.
Another homeowner, Joseph Mahfouz, also told News 10 that “In the 4 years that I’ve been here, at least twice I’ve seen it come up even with the bank and on to the road. We’ve had one incident, now two, with cars in the ditch.”
The flooding on the street has reached as high as the front doors of several homes in recent years.
This weekend’s heavy rain even resulted in a vehicle floating into the coulee. The vehicle had to be pulled out this morning.
Newer homeowners in the neighborhood like Tammy Messer said that hearing about the constant floods is nerve-racking.
“I mean I know the houses are raised on the pads where they’re built but it still makes us super nervous because people can’t get in and out of the neighborhood. I have a caregiver for my mom, and she couldn’t get in at all to take care of her on Saturday,” said Messer.
Residents also said that they reached out to the town of Duson and Lafayette Parish for assistance but haven’t heard a response yet.
They hope some form of progress can be made soon, before tragedy strikes.
“We’re not sure if it’s a DSLD problem or a parish problem, or even both of them can maybe get together and find a solution,” said Mahfouz. “Anything would be appreciated from a safety point of view, so nobody gets killed.”
“You need a bigger culvert; you need a bigger pipe to just let the water go. Or, least case scenario, at least come put a guard rail so the cars can stop going into the ditch,” Leger added.
Messer also told News 10, “Whatever they can do as far as widening the coulee or a bigger culvert, something to keep the water moving.”