BATON ROUGE - After several meetings and hearing concerns from church officials, the Department of Transportation clarified in a town meeting Tuesday evening that they will not build a ramp next to St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church.The church is located right under I-10. They will still move forward with the plan of adding lanes to the interstate, but plan to explore other locations. When it was announced that the area next to the church was an option for expanding the interstate, it drew concerns from parishioners. The St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church is the first African American Catholic Church in Baton Rouge and holds over 100 years of history. Parishioners voiced their concerns with DOTD representatives about how they want to preserve its history."Our parishioners are passionate about this church. We don't want to lose this church. Like I said, it's all we know. It's all I know. I've been here my entire life," parish vice-president of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church Walter Williams said. The area has seen what it's like to have a building taken away. In 1961, St. Francis Xavier High School was demolished to make room for I-10. Parishioners say they don't want history to repeat itself. "My eighth grade year is the year that they closed down the high school and the interstate came through. We were told at one point that we wouldn't have to sacrifice the school. But as you can see, the interstate is there and not the school," said a member of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Jacqueline Turnipseed.Even though DOTD said this project will not affect the church, members are still skeptical, while others are holding out hope. "I don't trust them. You say things, but you do something else. That's been it each time," Turnipseed said. "I think they are actually listening and responding to what we're saying," Williams said. Permalink| Comments