The clean-up of Coulee Ile Des Cannes has been an ongoing step-by-step project for years.

The Lafayette Consolidated Government is now hoping to begin construction of a section of the coulee.

“We are doing a section approximately from Fenetre Road North to Old Spanish Trail along the coulee and that was where public works left off before,” said Patricia Leyendecker, Community Development Director.

Leyendecker said they’re waiting on feedback from the community which was the first step in the eight step process or the environmental review…a process required in flood plains.

“We’ve notified the public that there’s a comment period that ends tomorrow. There was a notice in the paper on the 15th of February,” said Leyendecker.

Once the comment period is complete, the board will then look at different options for cleaning the coulee.

“We’re doing the plans and specs and once we’re done reviewing the plans and specs they can send it out to bid to get a contractor to do the work, but we are also working on the environmental review process,” said Leyendecker.

Since the section of the project is located in Scott, Mayor Purvis Morrison, said this will be a step toward relieving some of the flooding issues in the city.

“We as a city are going to be able to go in and dig our canals,our tributes that drain into Coulee Ile Des Cannes. Then we can put more slope into it and dig it deeper because now this canal will be dug deeper,” said Morrison.

LCG will use four million dollars from a grant linked to hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

Leyendecker said this project is in conjunction with Public Works.

Once the project is underway, she said it could take months before it is completed.

Public comments will be accepted again beginning March 8th for a seven day period.