NEW ORLEANS — There are hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of road and infrastructure projects taking place in New Orleans, and there are countless complaints and frustrations to go along with them. Many residents are asking why they’re not seeing progress in their neighborhoods. Just over a week ago, we saw how road construction can affect emergencies. In Ring surveillance video shared to WWL-TV, first responders were recently seen carrying a woman to the ambulance because they couldn’t access the street in front of her home in Central City. Edna Posey is the woman in the video.
“I was scared because when I bent down, I thought for sure I wasn’t going to make it,” said Posey.
Posey is now feeling better about her health, but not so much for the roadwork.
“We had a lot of dips and we had sitting waters here for two months,” said Renee Taylor.
Renee Taylor is a neighbor and says there has been some progress. When we visited the neighborhood last week, Taylor says her street was impassable. On Tuesday, she says it’s at least drivable.
“They did flatten it. We can drive down it, there’s so much work to be done out here still,” said Taylor.
Taylor says neighbors got a notice in December alerting them about the construction. She wants to know how much longer it’ll last.
“They just said they would be out here for a week. It’s now July,” said Taylor.
The work near Loyola Avenue and First Street is part of a massive overhaul of roads and infrastructure in New Orleans. According to information from the City of New Orleans, 94 projects totaling more than $260 million have been completed since 2018. Currently, 68 projects, estimated above $600 million are taking place.
“The mayor made the decision during the pandemic to ramp up construction to keep economic activity going,” said Sarah Porteous.
Sarah Porteous is the director of Special Projects and Engagement for the City of New Orleans. She says while many projects are on schedule, that “ramp up” in construction and the scope of it requires patience.
“We’ve got construction going on in neighborhoods all across the city, multiple contractors, it’s just a lot of work. We are experiencing some schedule delays in some of these projects,” said Porteous.
Porteous points out that many of these projects were designed and approved eight or more years ago. Fast forward to today as crews dig underground, some of them are running into issues they may have not anticipated.
“There are times we go in, and we don’t know what we’re going to uncover underneath the ground. The roadway may look like it’s in good condition, then you start digging and then underground utilities need to be replaced,” said Porteous.
Porteous says in such cases more environmental review with FEMA is needed, which can add more time on that particular job. City officials say while each project is unique, labor and staffing shortages are factors in delaying some of the work. There is a hotline dedicated to information on road construction, 504-658-ROAD or you can email concerns at roadwork@nola.gov.
“This is ridiculous the way we got to live,” said Edna Posey.
Edna Posey just hopes that if she needs the paramedics again, the condition of the road in front of her home will allow them to park an ambulance in front of her home.