Hwy. 64/Main Street: A project in 1974

Another major project currently underway in Zachary is the construction of a $4.36 million four-lane highway through the center of the city. The highway will stretch 5.37 miles from Old Scenic Highway (La. 964) to Plank Road (La. 67), and will go directly through the business section of the city. It is scheduled for completion in the summer of 1975.

An extensive utility relocation project in conformance with the overall water and gas expansion was undertaken in the downtown area to make room for the new highway. Twelve inch water mains were installed where four and six inch mains had existed previously, and two and three inch gas mains were replaced by four inch gas mains.

Sixty percent of the utility relocation was financed by the state, and 40 percent by the city through its water and gas bond issue.

Subsurface drainage is now being installed throughout the downtown section of the highway.

When all the work is completed, Zachary will have as its main thoroughfare a four-lane highway beautifying the city and acting as an artery for traffic and trade.

Main Street a main concern in 2011

Since its completion in 1975, Highway 64 has become one of the busiest, most congested and, as of late, one of the most dangerous roads in Zachary.

The four-lane, undivided concrete highway extends throughout the center of the city, providing access points to several major businesses and schools.

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development is in the early stages of a construction project that will widen a one-mile portion of Highway 64 between Highway 19 and McHugh Road.

The proposed LADOTD plan features a 16-foot raised grass median with various openings for left-turn lanes. The project is estimated to cost somewhere between $7.5 - $10 million and will be paid for with state and federal funds, said LADOTD spokesman Brendan Rush.

In the meantime, Murphy Express, a gas station and convenience store located on Main Street, has paid to have traffic delineators installed in two sections along Highway 64.

The traffic delineators were installed under the direction of the DOTD and are designed to restrict the number of available access points on the roadway.

Murphy Express will maintain the delineators until DOTD adds a center lane to the highway.

Main Street from La. Hwy. 19 to Lane RMC was the site of yet another motor vehicle accident in Zachary on Friday, Jan. 7.

In the latest crash, a Zachary man and his son were injured in front of Murphy Express when a Baton Rouge teen attempted a left turn out of the parking lot, and her Kia Optima collided with the men's Ford F-250.

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