MAUREPAS — Residents along Highway 22 in Livingston Parish say overgrown grass and clogged ditches are creating a safety concern as hurricane season gets underway.

Keith Landry, a resident from the area, says the grass along the road has grown so high it blocks the view of oncoming traffic near stop signs and makes it nearly impossible to see pedestrians at night.

"Not only unacceptable, it's also a safety hazard," Landry said.

"If somebody's trying to walk on side of that road at nighttime, you're coming around one of those curves, and that grass is higher than the mailbox, you can't see him. I mean, you're looking for a serious accident to happen."

Landry says most residents mow their own yards to keep things looking decent, but the ditches along the state highway are a different story. He says the area floods during hurricanes, and clogged ditches make that worse.

"Our biggest concern is we're getting ready to go in the hurricane season, and as you roll down the road, you've seen certain spots: high grass, ditches need to be dug out, trees from the last hurricane. And just to be constantly with this, with the grass, it's like we don't exist down here," he said.

Landry says residents have called their state representatives and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development but have not heard back.

WBRZ took those concerns to the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. The agency says recent rain has pushed back its mowing schedule.

"We've had a tough season, a lot of hot weather, a lot of rain," said Secretary of Transportation Glenn Ledet. "So that obviously accelerates the growth of grass and then makes it more difficult to mow. So that always affects our operation, but we're finding ways to overcome those challenges."

Ledet says the legislature provided additional funding that will allow the agency to move beyond its current four mowing cycles per year on state highways, including Highway 22. The extra money will also go toward specialized equipment to clear overgrown ditches.

"What you'll see in areas like that on LA 22 is we've got long arm, long reach mowers and able to really get down in ditches more frequently than we were in previous years with that additional investment," Ledet said.

Ledet says crews are already cutting along Highway 22 and expect to finish the entire corridor within the next week, if weather allows.