Considering the DOTD Lafayette Consolidated Government recently applied for a total of $50 million from the federal government and the state Department of Transportation and Development to fund pre-construction work on the Interstate 49 Lafayette connector, I remind the public that this 30-year-old project has several major problems:
1. Toxic waste: The connector would go through the former downtown rail yard where a 50-acre area from the Jefferson Street underpass to Taft Street is highly polluted on the surface as well as up to 50 feet below the surface with lead, trichloroethylene, asbestos, toluene and hundreds of other chemicals. This was noted as part of a federal case that declared the area a highly toxic waste site. Before building the connector, it must be cleaned up, which could take years and cost billions.
2. Burden on minorities: This path would take out hundreds of homes, mostly minority-owned…