The Rue De Kajun bridge over Bayou Pierre Part has been rated poor in two straight federal inventories, and its replacement is listed in the state's highway program for this fiscal year. The project took close to eleven months to go from a signed agreement to approved plans, and the Assumption Parish Police Jury's minutes show what was on the table during that time.
In September 2025, the parish signed its agreement with the state but held off approving the plans, noting it had not yet met with residents of the area. When the plans came back in August, the jury spelled out two features in public: the new bridge keeps the same span length as the current one, and it sits higher. The next date on the calendar is a tentative state bid opening in February 2027.
The Year Between the Agreement and the Plans
The record for this project, State Project No. H.015532, starts in a Road and Bridge Committee meeting on Wednesday, September 24, 2025. Committee Chairman Ron Alcorn asked for authority to sign the agreement with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, with one condition. In the words of the Police Jury's September 24, 2025 minutes:
"He stated that we will not approve the project plans because they have not met with the residents of the area as of now but we will authorize the President to sign."
Myron Matherne made the motion and Leroy Blanchard seconded it. The motion authorized Blanchard, as president, to sign the DOTD agreement "but not approval of project plans," and it passed unanimously.
From that point, the project moved through these steps:
- September 24, 2025. The committee authorized signing the DOTD agreement and held back approval of the plans, noting it had not yet met with residents of the area.
- February 25, 2026. DOTD's highway priority program for FY 2026-27, as submitted to the Legislature, listed the Rue De Kajun replacement as "scheduled for letting FY 26-27."
- August 12, 2026. Leroy Blanchard, now chairing the committee, asked for approval of the replacement plans. The motion passed unanimously.
- October 25, 2026. DOTD's six-month letting list showed the project tentatively scheduled to go out for bid on February 10, 2027.
That's close to eleven months between the signed agreement and the approved plans.
A Replacement Drawn to Look Like the Old One
When the plans came back on August 12, the conversation was mostly about how much the new bridge would resemble the old one. The August 12, 2026 minutes record Blanchard saying "there was some miscommunication with the residents." He said the replacement would be "a multi-span bridge with twenty (20) foot spans just like what is there now."
Committee member Jamie Ponville then asked whether it would sit at the same elevation. Blanchard answered that "it will actually be higher." Jeff Naquin moved to approve, Michael Dias seconded, and the vote was unanimous.
The minutes don't say what the miscommunication was. They do show which two details the jury chose to spell out in public: the span length and the height. Those are the two numbers that set how much room there is to pass under a bridge on a working bayou and how the road rises to meet it. According to the August minutes, the new bridge keeps the same 20-foot spacing between supports and sits higher above the water.
Why a 1999 Bridge Is Already Due for Replacement
A bridge built in 1999 doesn't sound old. Federal inspection data puts it on the replacement list anyway. The Rue De Kajun bridge's report card, built from the Federal Highway Administration's 2025 National Bridge Inventory and compiled August 20, 2026, describes a concrete slab bridge about 95 feet long, roughly 0.4 mile west of LA 70, owned by the parish.
The inspectors' scores, on a scale of 0 to 9:
- Substructure, the supports in the water: 4, which counts as poor
- Deck: 6
- Superstructure: 6
- Overall rating: poor, the same as in the 2024 inventory
The deck you drive on scores better than the supports underneath it. A bridge gets an overall poor rating when any one major component scores 4 or lower, and here it's the substructure that does it. The same source says a poor rating "does not by itself mean the bridge is unsafe." A bridge judged unsafe gets closed or load-restricted by its owner.
The 2025 inventory also lists the bridge as posted for load, meaning it carried a weight restriction as of that inventory, though the published report doesn't give the tonnage. The most recent inspection on record was in November 2024, and the bridge is on a 24-month inspection cycle.
For scale, the bridge carried about 192 vehicles a day in its 2020 traffic count. It's one of 9 bridges rated poor among the 68 inventoried in Assumption Parish. That's light traffic for a project in the state program, which puts the bridge's condition at the center of why it is there.
How the Money Is Programmed
DOTD's FY 2026-27 highway priority program, in the version submitted to the Legislature for review, lists $2.52 million in federal off-system bridge funds and $280,000 in off-system bridge funds for the Rue De Kajun replacement.
"Off-system" means the bridge is on a local road and not part of the state highway system. The Police Jury signed both an agreement and a set of plans with DOTD for this project, so the state program lines up the money and the parish signs off on what gets built over its bayou.
DOTD's current letting list puts the estimated cost at $2.5 million to $5 million and the project length at 0.02 mile. That works out to about a hundred feet of road, roughly the length of the current bridge.
February 10, 2027 Is a Bid Date
The February date is the one most likely to get repeated around town, so it helps to know what it means. On DOTD's list of projects to be let in the next six months, covering October 25, 2026 through April 25, 2027, the Assumption Parish entry reads "02/10/2027 | H.015532 | RUE DE KAJUN OVER BAYOU PIERRE PART | BRIDGE REPLACEMENT."
A letting is when DOTD opens contractor bids. Construction comes after a contract is awarded. DOTD also labels every date on that list as tentative and "contingent upon availability of funds and completion of all environmental and pre-construction activities," including permits, right-of-way acquisition, final design and utility agreements.
Here is where things stand as this post goes up:
Settled: The parish has signed the agreement and approved plans calling for 20-foot spans at a higher elevation.
Programmed or scheduled, but not final: Funding listed in DOTD's FY 2026-27 program as submitted to the Legislature, and a bid opening tentatively set for February 10, 2027.
Not yet published: A construction start date, how long the bridge will be closed, a detour route, and any current weight limit. None of these appear in the August minutes or on DOTD's letting list.
If you live on the far side of the crossing, the closure length and detour will matter most, and those details usually firm up after a contractor is on board.
This Holiday Season Uses the Bridge You Already Know
Since the bids won't open until February, nothing about the replacement changes the crossing this fall. The Pierre Part–Belle River Business Group calendar lists the Christmas tree lighting and social for Saturday, December 12, 2026, and the Pierre Part Christmas parade for Sunday, December 13, 2026. The group hasn't posted times or a route yet, but both dates come about two months before DOTD even opens bids.
Rue De Kajun isn't the only road item on the parish's list. The same August 12 meeting heard that work on LA 70 through Pierre Part had just been done, and that a cross-culvert job on North Bay Road was waiting with materials ready while the parish checked how it would affect a significant tree nearby.
The Police Jury posts its agendas and minutes at assumptionla.com. That's where the Rue De Kajun bridge first appeared in September 2025, and it's where to watch for news about the contract award, the closure and the detour. DOTD's letting list will show whether February 10 holds.
If you own a home or land near the Rue De Kajun crossing and you're wondering how a closure in the next year or two might fit with your plans to sell or buy, I'm happy to talk it through with you. You can reach me at Lori Broussard to schedule a free consultation, and I'll keep watching the parish minutes along with you.
