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Governor John Bel Edwards joined state and local officials Friday afternoon at the West St. Mary Community Center to dedicate the new overpass at La. 318 and US 90.
According to Edwards, the ribbon cutting ceremony was the first time he had been back to the parish in two years.
“We have been committed to moving Louisiana forward by making transportation a priority,” said Edwards. “Since I’ve been governor, we’ve actually invested over $1.4 billion in over 700 projects that have gone to bid statewide. That includes $35 million here in St. Mary Parish alone, not to mention the completion of the project we are here today to celebrate, and we need to be doing more.”
He went on to say that the backlog in Baton Rouge, of statewide transportation and infrastructure projects, needs “gross mastering,” as it grows faster than it is solved.
However, it was the successful completion of this project, which Edwards said “plays a vital role in the preparation for the future I-49 South corridor,” and improves both US 90 and the intersection of US 90 and La. 318.
He touched on the importance of both routes and the role they play in the parish for its residents and businesses, saying of out-of-state travelers on US 90 toward New Orleans, “It’s a good thing, because if they try to go across the I-10 corridor, we’re terribly congested.”
He added, “Additionally, it (US 90) serves as an evacuation route and as a transport route for freight and other port-related industries of South Louisiana.
“Continuing to expand and grow our infrastructure is critical for our state’s economic growth, and it is projects like this one, that will move our state forward.”
Following the governor’s remarks, Senator Bret Allain added, “I don’t know if you know this, but right now, with the completion of this overpass, we’re I-49 compliant all the way from Lafayette to the Calumet Cut.
This is a great day for St. Mary and Iberia Parish.”
Also in attendance Friday was State Representative Sam Jones. Jones has been talking about the project of the new overpass since before Edwards was elected to office, and says it was the first thing he spoke about with the governor when they were both elected to sit together in the House of Representatives.
He said of the project’s importance, “How do you keep a community poor? You lock them out and fence them off. Without this overpass, how could this community exist? It wouldn’t. It would slowly die if it didn’t have access. It would deteriorate because it wouldn’t have investment.
“Well, investment is coming. The investment may not be here tomorrow, but it is coming.”
Jones said in order for business to thrive in the community of West St. Mary, the environment must be cooperative in terms of accessibility.
“Too long this place has been neglected by parish government and that needs to stop.
“This needs to be a place of economic development. It is ready.”

Baldwin town officials, Patterson officials and sheriff’s office personnel, along with owner Roy Millet, held the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Baldwin Laundry Room, Thursday, at 10 a.m., in Baldwin.

Morgan City used a five-run fourth inning to pull away from West Ouachita for a 10-1 rout Saturday and advance to the school’s first state softball championship game since 1997.
The Lady Tigers, Class 4A’s top-ranked team, will face No. 3 DeRidder (23-10), who upset No. 2 North DeSoto, 8-4, in eight innings in the other Class 4A semifinal Saturday morning, in Saturday’s 4A title game. First pitch is set for 7:30 p.m. on Field 13.
“I told them that this game shouldn’t make them any more nervous than any of the other games. … They seem to be in a really great spot,” Morgan City coach Tamara Keller said of the pending finals. “I didn’t have any nerves before that game, and I don’t really expect any before this game. They kind of came in with the right mentality, and I haven’t really had to worry about them.”
She said that they have more confidence in themselves, which leads to better offensive production.
In Morgan City’s semifinal win, the Lady Tigers broke open the game in the bottom of the fourth.
Already ahead 4-0 in the top of the fourth, Morgan City (23-4) scored five runs in the frame, three of those on Scottie Metrejean’s bases-clearing double, for an 8-0 Morgan City lead.
The Lady Tigers added another run one batter later when McKenzi Smith doubled, bringing home Metrejean for a 9-0 advantage.
Despite leaving the bases loaded to end the inning, Morgan City gave pitcher Kennedy Hebert a huge cushion to work with on the mound.
“We stressed to them (Morgan City) before we started that they were going to come out thinking they handled us pretty well, that they hit Ken pretty well last year, but she’s not the same kid she was last year,” Morgan City High School coach Tamara Keller said of West Ouachita’s victory against Morgan City a year ago in the Class 4A quarterfinals. “She threw amazing, and the middle of my lineup really stepped up.”
Keller said the middle of the lineup stepping up its game made a difference in the final score.
“They were extremely relaxed and that’s a huge difference from a year ago,” Keller said.
Hebert, who surrendered the game’s lone run to West Ouachita (18-13) on a sacrifice bunt by Alex Roberson in the top of the fifth, surrendered one earned run on one hit with two walks and struck out nine in a complete-game effort. She threw 99 pitches, 71 for strikes.
Morgan City started out fast as the Lady Tigers scored three runs in the top of the first.
Allie Vincent led off the game with a single before West Ouachita starter Lacie Russell walked three consecutive batters, the third allowing Vincent to come home for the game’s first run before she was replaced by Shelby Carlson.
The Lady Tigers added two more runs via a Scottie Metrejean ground out and an error at shortstop to take a 3-0 lead.
North DeSoto had advanced a runner to third base in the top of the first inning but was left stranded there after Sam Eckert flew out to left field to end the inning.
Morgan City extended its lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the third as Gracie Verrett and Metrejean each reached on singles to begin the third.
After Smith struck out, Mattie Rivere laid down a sacrifice bunt to score Verrett for a 4-0 Morgan City advantage.
In the top of the fifth, West Ouachita got its first runner past first base since the first inning when a throw to first base was not secured for a catch and got by the first baseman, allowing Maicey Spillers to advance to second base.
Carah Gooden laid down a sacrifice bunt to get her to third base before Roberson’s sacrifice bunt brought home Spillers to make the score 9-1.
Morgan City added a run in the bottom of the fifth on Gracie Verrett’s groundout to shortstop for a 10-1 lead.
Hebert and the Morgan City defense retired the last seven West Ouachita batters, four of those by strikeouts.
Metrejean and Verrett led Morgan City offensively. Scottie Metrejean finished 2-for-4 with a double, four RBIs and one run, while Verrett was 2-for-3 with three RBIs, a stolen base and two runs. Other top Morgan City offensive contributors were: Hebert, 2-for-3, three stolen bases and two runs; Smith, 1-for-4, a double and two RBIs; and Matti Rivere, an RBI.
Russell suffered the loss as she didn’t record an out. She allowed three runs (two earned) on one hit with three walks.
Carlson received a no-decision as she surrendered seven runs (six earned) on nine hits with one walk, one hit batter and nine strikeouts in six innings.
Ashlyn Roach led West Ouachita with a 1-for-3 performance, while Roberson had the team’s lone RBI.
MCHS 3, Grant 1
(Quarterfinals)
A dominant performance by Kennedy Hebert on the mound led the Morgan City Lady Tigers past Grant, 3-1, in Class 4A quarterfinal action at Frasch Park Friday.
Hebert pitched a complete game in which she allowed one earned run on four hits with seven walks and 17 strikeouts.
Morgan City got going early with two runs in the top of the first.
Allie Vincent led off the bottom of the first with a walk and moved her way around to third.
With two outs, Gracie Verrett tripled to the right field wall, bringing home Vincent for the game’s first run.
After Scottie Metrejean walked, McKenzi Smith struck out but reached base after the ball went past the catcher, allowing Verrett to come home for the game’s second run.
The two teams were scoreless the next two innings, but Grant (16-14) left runners on second and third base in the second and third innings, both times ending in a Hebert strikeout.
Morgan City stranded a runner at third in the bottom of the second after a fly out to end the inning.
In the top of the fourth, Grant again stranded at second base as Hebert got a called third strike on the batter.
Morgan City added a run in the bottom of the fourth.
With one out, Nia Lightfoot connected on a triple that landed just inside the right-field line.
While the next batter, Brynn Stephens, struck out looking for the inning’s second out, Vincent followed with a bunt single before Hebert connected on a run-scoring single to centerfield that ricocheted off Grant pitcher Kaytlon Ward’s glove and past the second baseman into right field that brought Lightfoot home for a 3-0 lead.
Grant got on the board in the bottom of the sixth as Hebert ran into some trouble as she walked Kelsey Mobley and Ward before Kennedy Reitzell laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners to second and third base.
Ashton Wells then followed with a single to left field, just the third hit that Hebert had surrendered all game, scoring a run for a 3-1 advantage.
While Hebert struck out Natalie Farmer for the second out, she walked Ashlynn Lacombe to load the bases with two outs. However, she got Paige Hedrick to ground out to McKenzi Smith to end the inning and limit the damage.
Grant got one base runner on in the top of the seventh via a two-out single to left field by Mobley, but Hebert fanned the next batter, Ward, to end the game.
Offensively, Lightfoot, Verrett and Vincent led Morgan City’s offense. Lightfoot was 2-for-3 with a triple and a run, while Verrett was 1-for-3 with a triple, an RBI and a run. Vincent finished 2-for-3 with a run. Other top Morgan City offensive contributors were Haylie Crappell, 1-for-3, with a double; and Hebert, 1-for-4, an RBI.
Ward suffered the loss. In six innings, she surrendered three runs (two earned) on eight hits with two walks and fanned 10.
Offensively, Mobley led Grant with a 1-for-2 performance with a run, while Wells was 1-for-2. Other top offensive contributors were: Hedrick, 1-for-3, and Kaylea Godron, 1-for-4.
Additional reporting by KBZE 105.9 FM