Vermilion River dredging plan gets support

Lafayette’s City Council approved $20 million in new spending for drainage improvements Thursday.

“My sincere thanks to the Lafayette City Council for unanimously approving my emergency request for $20 million in new funding to accelerate our ongoing drainage initiatives and bring our next projects online faster,” said Josh Guillory, Mayor-President of Lafayette, Louisiana.

“Along with funding approved earlier this week, we are committing $30 million in new dollars to drainage.”

“These efforts are the latest in a series of measures starting with separating drainage into its own department, which I brought before the councils immediately when I took office.”

“Just a few weeks ago, we submitted a proposal for $10 million in funding that was approved during the most recent council meetings on Tuesday.”

Here’s a list of projects to receive expedited funding in this next phase utilizing this $20 million:

– Spot Dredging Vermilion: $5 million

– Drainage Maintenance Projects: $3 million

Additional Public Works Projects:

– Walker Phase I: $250K

– Walker Phase III: $1.6 million

– Lake Farm Detention: $3.85 million

Drainage Equipment:

– Flusher Trucks: $900K

– Gradall: $450K

Localized Flood Mitigation: $5 million.