GONZALES – A new road is being built to provide drivers with another way in and out of the Lamar Dixon Expo Center.
The new road is called the Edenborne Extension and will connect Edenborne Parkway, that runs along River Parish Community College, to South Saint Landry Avenue.
Currently, the area is being cleared.
"We take out all of the trees, underbrush, we do the dirt work necessary for the drainage to come through," Martin McConnell, Ascension Parish public information officer, said.
The extension will give drivers another option to access the Expo center.
"Let me tell you something, this road has been talked about for years and finally we're going to get it done. I mean I'm going to get this road built for the people of Ascension Parish," Parish President Kenny Matassa said.
Without the extension there are two ways to get to the center: by South Saint Landry Road or Ashland Road, both of which end up at LA 30. Officials say the extension will allow for more access.
"That's going to allow Lamar Dixon to its really full potential because we can get more people in and out of here in a safe efficient manner," McConnell said.
Parish officials say that the extension will reduce traffic and open the path for more businesses around the area.
"You see all this land that's around us all this property it's going to open all of this up for future development,"McConnell said.
The one-mile extension costs $5.2 million. Originally, the money was supposed to come from the state.
"We were ready to go and then the state experienced financial difficulties," McConnell said.
However, the project is now being funded through parish funds. Officials say a contractor will be selected within the next thirty days.