NEW ORLEANS — A month after Hurricane Ida many traffic lights remain out in New Orleans, specifically in the Central Business District along Canal and Poydras street.
In a press briefing Tuesday Communications Director Beau Tidwell addressed the problem saying much of what Mayor Cantrell had tweeted on Monday.
Tidwell said 255 of 463 traffic signals in New Orleans were damaged during Hurricane Ida. So far 115 of the 255 damaged lights were fixed by the Department of Public Works.
"Those are situations that due to the wind the arms have been rotated. The problem with that is that the wiring connecting the arms through the pole into the ground has now been crimped. That disables the signals from functioning properly and to fix it they have to go in and fix replace the wiring. That may mean foundation replacement and roadway pavement removal," said Tidwell.
140 traffic lights still need to be repaired and 99 are required to be repaired by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development
It's still not known when all the lights will be repaired but Tidwell said that the Department of Public Works has an emergency bid out now to awarded a contract to fix 41 lights in the CBD.
Drivers should treat intersections as 4-way stops. Residents can call 311 to report malfunctioning traffic signals.
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