Bill Capo / Eyewitness News
Email: bcapo@wwltv.com | Twitter: @billcapo
Some French Quarter streets are in bad shape. But repair crews are scheduled to arrive in mid to late July.
"It's gonna be a brand new French Quarter," smiled Alexandra Wommack, of the Paths To Progress program. "It's gonna be amazing, and this work will be completed before the Super Bowl."eleven million dollars to repair the French Quarter portions of Royal Street, Burgundy, Dauphine, Esplanade, Toulouse, St. Louis, and parts of Decatur and North Peters.
"We're gonna take off two inches of asphalt, we're gonna patch any party of the road that has failed, we're gonna resurface the entire street," said Wommack. "At every corner will be new ADA compliant ramps."
"For the fall October through Christmas, I am concerned about the streets being torn up, and the tourists blocked from accessing not only my shop, but also the rest of the shops," said Jack Adams of Maison Royale. "On the other hand, I do think it's a wonderful thing."
"If the contractor needs to work at night or on the weekend, he'll have to ask permission," responded Wommack. "As far as the residents, there will always be one lane open. There will always be access. They will always have access to the business or their homes."
"We see people falling all the time, mostly tourists because they're not aware of the conditions of the sidewalks and the streets,"said Melissa Schehr of Maison Royale.
Now you can see the construction crews have been marking areas of the street that need special work. But one thing that always irritates people is that when a street repair project like this is complete, the street looks great, and then a few weeks later a utility company comes in and digs a big hole in it. But in this case, they say they're coordinating with the utilities.
"We'd like for them to come in and they repair anything, Sewerage & Water Board, Entergy & AT&T that needs the work before we come in and repave," said Wommack.
The work should be completed by December. An informational meeting takes place June 26th at 6 p.m. at the Old U.S. Mint at 400 Esplanade. For more information, the Paths To Progress website is www.pavingLAroads.com.
But there was one concern they hope repair crews will tackle.
But residents and businesses like Maison Royale art, antiques and jewelry worry about the construction causing disruption.
