VIDALIA, La. &045; Without a new tax to pay for improvements, parish roads will continue to get worse, police jurors said Tuesday at the final public hearing before an October vote.

One parish resident expressed dismay at the state of roads in the parish, particularly two gravel roads near Vidalia.

&uot;I’ve been here numerous times over the years to talk about Lyons Road and Freeman Road,&uot; Catherine Cartwright said. &uot;We had to pay to get these roads up to standard. I don’t think we should have roads like that.&uot;

Jury president said those roads would be improved in the construction project planned if the tax passes.

&uot;If this tax passes, those roads will be hard-surfaced,&uot; jury President Melvin Ferrington said.

&uot;If this tax doesn’t pass, we’re right back to square one. Without this tax, a lot of our roads will be that bad and worse.&uot;

The tax, which would add 1.5 cents to the existing 7.25-cent sales tax, will come up for a vote Oct. 15.

Only stores in the parish outside Ferriday and Vidalia would be subject to the new tax.

All but 5 percent of the tax’s anticipated $950,000 annual revenue will go to road work. The remaining money will be split between the Concordia Parish Council on Aging and the Concordia Parish LSU Extension Agricultural Service.

Most of the remaining revenue would be used to secure a 20-year bond so that approximately $11 million would be available immediately to begin construction on 82 roads in the parish. Under the plan, all construction would finish by late 2007.

Parish resident Justin Conner expressed concern about the order in which roads would be resurfaced with the tax money.

Jurors explained the reason they opted to go with a bond package was so that all the roads on the priority list could be completed within two years, rather than working on a few roads a year for the next 20 years.

Another resident in attendance said he felt the wait would be short compared to the amount of time the roads have been deteriorating.

&uot;As long as these roads have been in bad shape, two years will pass by so quickly,&uot; Ray Routon said.

Some concerns were also expressed about how the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina might affect construction costs and the amount of money available to Concordia Parish from the state of Louisiana.

Bryant Hammett, the lead engineer for the project and the area’s representative in the Legislature, said he had recently received bids for a road construction project.

&uot;They were a little higher (than before Katrina) but not significantly higher,&uot; Hammett said. &uot;We feel confident that the market will remain stable.&uot;

Juror Randy Temple asked Hammett how the Katrina might affect the state’s ability to give Concordia Parish money, but Hammett said it was still too soon to know what might happen.