the Cypress Lake Wire

By Kayla Woods-Crane

Lafayette’s infrastructure, particularly the quality of roads and traffic, is often criticized by its citizens. On Nov. 15, voters in Lafayette Parish can decide whether to renew two existing property taxes, also called millages, that directly impact the infrastructure and public safety of Lafayette.

A millage is a tax rate used to calculate local property taxes. The rate represents the amount of tax per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value.

According to Lafayette Consolidated Government, the first millage for renewal is the Road and Bridge Maintenance Millage. It will be 4.47 mills and generate $12.7 million per year. It funds roadway resurfacing, reconstruction, road widening, capacity projects, bridge replacements and roadside mowing and maintenance.

The second millage is the Public Health and Safety Millage. It will be 3.81 mills and generate $10.8 million per year. It supports drainage efforts, rural fire protection, animal shelters and care centers, mosquito control, the coroner’s office and public health services.

Warren Abadie, director of Public Works at Lafayette Consolidated Government, explained that renewing the millages is important for Lafayette Parish to maintain its infrastructure.

“Whether it’s bridges, whether it’s overlay, whether it’s cutting grass in a parish, it’s a critical function to support our way of life,” he said. “And there’s just no way that we could do it without the renewal of this millage. I mean, it is the primary funding source for that activity.”

If renewed in 2026, the Road and Bridge Maintenance Millage will fund $3.75 million for parish road overlay and $3.05 million for bridge replacements. The money collected from the millages will mostly be used in the unincorporated parts of the parish.

In 2025, the millage funded the reconstruction of Gloria Switch Rd., which included the addition of a roundabout to improve traffic flow, repaved roads and the installation of a box culvert to replace a bridge. It also funded $3.1 million for parish-wide bridge replacements and $2.7 million for road overlays and repairs.

According to a report by TRIP, a national transportation research nonprofit, published in April 2025, 43% of major roads in Lafayette have poor pavement conditions. and 8% of bridges were rated as poor or structurally inefficient. TRIP estimated that Lafayette drivers pay $858 in additional annual vehicle operating costs due to driving on deteriorated roads.

To decide which roads to reconstruct and repair, Abadie said the Public Works department rates every road in the parish on a two-year cycle. Each road is rated based on several factors, like traffic volume, repair and reconstruction costs and the usage of the road, among others. From this, they can create a prioritized list. They also have a list of bridges that they expect to rebuild over the next few years with the millage.

These millages were previously on the ballot in March 2025 but failed to pass. According to The Current, if the millages fail to pass again, officials could put them back on the ballot in six months, before they expire at the end of 2026.

Early voting began on Nov. 1 and ended Nov. 8. Mail-in voting ends on Nov. 14. Nov. 15 is election day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at all voting locations. Voting locations include the Lafayette Parish Government Building in Downtown Lafayette, Martin Luther King Jr. Recreational Center and the East Regional Library.