by Wesley Harris
The Lincoln Parish Police Jury is using road graders and other equipment to remove the remnants of the weekend’s ice storm from state and parish roadways.
Glenn Scriber, president of the Police Jury, said Monday afternoon that the Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development (DOTD) had approved the Police Jury to clear state highways. Generally, DOTD maintains state highways while the Police Jury cares for parish roads.
“We couldn’t sit back and do nothing,” Scriber said of the Police Jury. Although the parish performed limited ice removal from roadways after a 2021 ice storm, this is a much larger effort, he said.
“We talked to DOTD about what we could do to help in clearing our major highways,” Scriber said. “DOTD is concentrating on Interstate 20 so we asked if we could work on our most traveled state highways—33, 167, and 80—with their permission.”
“We first selected highways that would benefit the most people,” Scriber said, noting that most of the highways worked Monday led into Ruston.
“We have our parish workers out as well as contractors we have engaged to help us,” Scriber said. Contractors were directed to the Dubach area and Burgessville, Rough Edge, and Frazier Roads north of Ruston. More work on parish roads will continue Tuesday when conditions will be much more treacherous due to refreezing of slush and melted ice Monday night.
“Our crews and contractors are doing a very good job,” Scriber said. “The more ice we can remove, the sooner the remnants will melt and clear the roads.”
Scriber said Police Jury workers also cleared areas around the Northern Louisiana Medical Center, including the emergency room to aid ambulances and employee parking lots, and a nearby dialysis center.
Ruston Mayor Ronny Walker expressed appreciation to the Police Jury for help clearing roadways inside the city.
“I think this is the worst ice we’ve experienced while I’ve been mayor,” Walker said, “but we did not have the power outages we saw in past storms.”
Walker attributed some of the success in reducing power failures to the City’s aggressive tree-trimming program. “We’re appreciative of the City Council allowing us to be able to be proactive in preparing for these situations.”
The mayor praised all city departments that have worked tirelessly during the storm and its aftereffects.
“Our crews have done incredible work,” Walker said. “Our police, fire, public works, have been excellent in taking care of our citizens.”
Walker said street crews and utility crews were keep in town through the weekend. “Some workers live out in the parish but we wanted everyone close, so our crews slept at the office or in hotel rooms so they would be immediately available when needed.”
Walker said contract crews were also brought in for the weekend just to deal with downed trees across roads and power lines.
The bitter cold hampered some efforts to restore power. “A motorist hit a power pole on Maple Street Saturday,” Walker said. “What should have been a two-hour job to restore power took five hours because the hydraulics in the bucket trucks froze up due to the cold.”
Other outages Saturday and Sunday were each cleared up within two-three hours.
The mayor said some Ruston businesses experienced damage from the weight of ice on buildings.
“We lost some awnings and portable buildings but no damage to city property,” he said.
Walker expressed appreciation for the public’s cooperation and patience during difficult circumstances. He also cited some individuals for special recognition.
“My wife cooked all weekend for linemen and police officers,” he said. “Moose Garriga of Log Cabin, Heath Hightower of Sundown Tavern, and Super 1 Foods were great in helping us out with food for our city workers and contract crews. We’re very fortunate to have such great people in Ruston.”
Walker added, “We need to remember those in areas still without power.” He explained Ouachita Parish still has tens of thousands without power as well as a serious problem with water distribution.
Both Walker and Scriber urged motorists to stay off the roads Tuesday.
Walker said a crash in Bienville Parish had Interstate 20 backed up from west of Arcadia to nearly the Ouachita Parish line as of Monday evening and unnecessary travel compounded the problem. He expects roads Tuesday to be hazardous.
“I encourage everyone to stay home unless travel is absolutely necessary,” Scriber said. “The roads are still very hazardous and we want our first responders to be safe by keeping the traffic volume as low as possible.”
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Lincoln Parish schools, parish offices, and City of Ruston offices will be closed Tuesday, January 27. Louisiana Tech will be closed through Wednesday.
Garbage trucks will not run Tuesday. The City will evaluate conditions and once a determination for garbage routes is made, an updated pickup schedule will be provided.
Need to report a problem in Ruston? Call the City’s 24/7 Operations Desk at 318-255-1316.
