NEW ORLEANS - An attempt to update Hollywood Road in Terrebonne Parish has tangled the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government (TPCA), the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and FHWA Administrator Stephanie Pollock in federal court.
According to a lawsuit filed on April 6 in New Orleans, plaintiff TPCA applied for and was awarded use of FHWA funds through the Louisiana Federal-Aid Highway Program, a roadway cost-sharing program that takes 80% of road update costs off of local entities. The program is administered by the DOT.
TPCA entered into an agreement for the Hollywood Road construction with contractor Conti Enterprises Inc., with the DOT as an underlying party at the requirement of the DOT.
Conti Enterprises then sued TPCA and the DOT for millions of dollars worth in breach of contract damages that allegedly included deficient project plans and materially different site conditions.
TPCA then filed its complaint alleging that the DOT is responsible for any of the supposed issues with the project as the program's administrator and asked FHWA officials to testify; upon the FHWA's response that it would not testify, the plaintiff filed this complaint requesting the court order the FHWA be available for deposition for the case.
The plaintiff is represented by the Law Office of Courtney E. Alcock of Houma and the Law Office of Patrick H. Yancey of Houma.