Veterans cemetery on track for 2016 opening
Construction on the $7.3 million Northeast Louisiana Veterans Cemetery near Rayville is on track for an early 2016 opening despite a cold winter and wet spring, Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David LaCerte said Tuesday.
"I am pleased to announce that construction of the Northeast Louisiana Veterans Cemetery is progressing very well," LaCerte said. "Despite the uncharacteristically cold weather northeastern Louisiana experienced earlier this year, work at the cemetery site has continued to move forward at a good pace with no serious delays slowing down the project."
LaCerte said all dirt work is complete, underground storm drains are in place and the foundations have been poured for the administrative and maintenance buildings and committal shelter.
The main roadway has been grated and asphalt work will begin soon. Underground drainage for the crypt area will be installed in the coming weeks with underground crypt installation scheduled for June.
State Sen. Francis Thompson, D-Delhi, and state Rep. Bubba Chaney, R-Rayville, said the cemetery will be a showplace.
"This is going to be a tremendous project that honors our own fighting men and women in our region," Thompson said. "It's something we've worked to achieve for so long, and to see it finally coming to pass is one of the most rewarding things I can remember.
"It will be a beautiful place of honor for our veterans and a wonderful project for us all."
"It's going to be a beautiful site and perfect location," Chaney said. "It's going to be a serene place of dignity for our veterans."
The 50-acre site, which was donated by the Franklin family, is located near Interstate 20 off U.S. 425 and Louisiana 137. Up to 35,000 veterans could be buried there.
Louisiana's state veterans cemeteries are often described as "mini-Arlingtons," referring to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
They have similar amenities and features and employ a staff of 10 to 15 workers. Once the federal agency pays for planning and construction, the state takes over the operating expense.
The completed project will feature a main entrance, an administration building, a maintenance facility, roads, an assembly area, a committal shelter, preplaced crypts, cremains burial gravesites, memorial and scatter burial areas, columbaria, landscaping and a memorial walkway.
Louisiana's Department of Veterans Affairs operates three other veterans cemeteries in Keithville south of Shreveport, near Folk Polk in Leesville and adjacent to Louisiana National Guard Camp Villere in Slidell.
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