Study: Guardrails Along Canals in Jefferson Parish Would Cost Millions

An engineering study finds it would cost at least $100 million to install enough barriers to prevent cars from veering into any of the uncovered drainage canals on the east bank of Jefferson Parish in Louisiana.

The New Orleans Advocate reports the study finds it would cost about $8.1 million to install guardrails next to drainage canals running alongside significant stretches of heavily trafficked Veterans Memorial Boulevard and West Napoleon Avenue, as well as a stretch of West Esplanade Avenue that has been particularly prone to accidents.

The $150,000 study covering the east bank was completed first, partly because that was where 6-year-old Karissa Wise; her mother, 32-year-old Elizabeth Braddock and firefighter David Yeomans died in two separate incidents in which their cars plunged into canals in April.