Road Improvements Ahead

New Orleans drivers may soon find some relief from our city’s notorious potholes. This year will see a full swing of road repairs envisioned by the City’s Recovery Roads Program. The Landrieu administration says that since taking office, it has met with FEMA more than 600 times, making neighborhood street repairs a top priority.

Projects in St. Claude and on Read Boulevard in New Orleans East were awarded bids toward the end of 2013. Some projects already have been completed, including repairs to sidewalks in the Lower Garden District, a demonstration project in the Lower 9th Ward and repairs to Vicksburg Street in Lakeview.

The city’s Department of Public Works Director Col. Mark Jernigan says, “2014 will be a very busy year as the Recovery Roads Program really begins to take off. Residents can expect to experience construction-related inconveniences but they are all in the name of progress and much smoother roads.”

These projects span the city and include the St. Thomas Development estimated at $120,000 and McDonough in Algiers estimated at $70,000, to the Lower 9th Ward estimated at $9 million and Gentilly Terrace estimated at $9.6 million. Other neighborhoods that will experience interior neighborhood road repairs include St. Claude, Venetian Isles, Holy Cross, Touro, Lakewood, Lakeview, Lake Vista, West Lake Forest, Little Woods, Milneburg, St. Anthony, Tremé, Florida Area, Bywater/Marigny, Lower Garden District/CBD, Broadmoor, Pontchartrain Park and Iberville/Tulane-Gravier.

Concurrently, the state’s transportation improvement program, Paths to Progress, is underway. Together, the Federal Highway Administration, the Louisiana Department of Transportation, the New Orleans Regional Planning Commission and the City of New Orleans target 60 roadway segments in Orleans and Jefferson parishes. The scheduled repairs consist of removing and repaving as well as full depth pavement for failed sections. The projects also incorporate installation of ADA-compliant ramps at corners.

This year will see construction on Congress Drive and West Esplanade Avenue, and bid letting for other projects such as General De Gaulle Avenue, Behrman Avenue and North Galvez Street.
 

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