Drunk Eddie indicted!

NOLA.com: Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price indicted on perjury charge

Today must be the day of "about damn time," I swear. First, the news on the I-12 interchange, now this! Drunk Eddie's been indicted for something, in this case perjury, stemming from (alleged!!!) false testimony given in a 2008 criminal trial of one of his buddies. A sergeant in the Mandeville Police Department was also indicted.

Now, I used to give Drunk Eddie nearly daily grief in this blog because he seemed to be in the news every day over his near-criminal screw-ups. I also haven't talked about him in forever because he seemed to be in the news every day over his near-criminal screw-ups. Beating up on a dead horse gets boring after a while... but this is real news.

This has been a long time in coming. We here in Mandeville have known better than to bitch about the corrupt government across the Lake because Price was just as bad, punctuated by him obliterating a Causeway toll booth barrier in his city-owned SUV while loaded. Supposedly, there are even more charges being considered when another grand jury convenes later in the year over Mandeville's finances, of which there were improprieties found in a Legislative Auditor's report.

Again, the staff here (consisting of myself and a hyperactive cat) resume our calls for Drunk Eddie to resign so Mandeville doesn't have to wait to have its next corrupt ruler take office. Except now, it may not be necessary. He could end up having to leave office due to a change of address to one of Louisiana's wonderful state prisons. Thank $deity that Mandeville's city charter forces the mayor to go bye-bye if convicted of a felony.

LA 1088/I-12 interchange contract to be awarded this month

NOLA.com - Contract to be awarded this month for new I-12 interchange near Mandeville

It's about damn time, coming from someone who lives within walking distance of the area where roadwork will commence. We've been waiting for this interchange to be built for my entire life, it seems. It's always been pushed back. Just to keep waiting, and waiting, and waiting...

Now is the time. I ranted against a school being built on 1088 between I-12 and LA 36 back in February because of the lack of an interchange and the potential for a traffic jam right in front of my house. Of course, who listens to me? They opened it anyway. At least traffic's not so bad... yet.

Once they begin work on the interchange, it will become a nightmare. Why? Because they'll be improving LA 1088 to a divided highway in the process. This is still a good thing, as the added capacity for LA 1088 will be needed. It's not just for the locals - traffic in Mandeville proper will be able to shave about six miles from an eastbound trip on the Interstate over the current interchange at LA 59. It'll relieve that interchange of some traffic from the south and from the north (connecting to I-12 from LA 1088 shaves even more mileage over LA 36 West and LA 59 south to I-12 - though far fewer people live on parts of LA 36 that would benefit, and no one lives on that part of 1088 yet.) Problem is, traffic at that interchange is insane, and even 1/4 of that traffic would choke a two-lane highway.

But the process of widening 1088 would choke things up for a while even if they left the existing two-lane carriageway alone while they built one parallel.

Still, gripes aside, this is something that has been needed in the worst way for years and will relieve traffic all over the extended Mandeville area. Plus, it's an interchange I could photograph by walking... can't wait for that opportunity.

Minor UPD*TE

I haven't been taking that many pics or updating lately, but I have some very good reasons. One, I'm poor, two, gas costs too much, and three, I'm now living alone, and having to cover all associated bills. Still, I had to take a trip down to New Orleans last Tuesday, so I have a few pics from the trip.

New:

I-610 (Louisiana): Eastbound coverage between the split from I-10 and Exit 3.
LA 3021: A.K.A. Elysian Fields Avenue. Southbound coverage between I-610 and LA 39/46 (North Claiborne Avenue.)

Updated:

I-10: Added six pictures between Exit 228 (Causeway Boulevard) and Exit 230 (the I-10/I-610 split).

Revised:

I-110 (Mississippi): Revised album to reflect the truncation of Mississippi 15. Picture descriptions will be edited later.