Image courtesy of City of New Orleans.
NEW ORLEANS — Mayor LaToya Cantrell today was joined by Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Infrastructure Joseph Threat, Interim General Superintendent for the Sewerage and Water Board New Orleans (SWBNO) Ron Spooner, District C Councilmember Freddie King III, and Director of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) Casey Tingle to break ground on the $18.5 million St. Roch Drainage Upgrade project. This project will include 17 blocks of roadwork construction in the St. Roch neighborhood.
“It is truly unprecedented what’s happening in the City of New Orleans in terms of infrastructure improvements, and none of this is possible without the partnerships on the local, state and federal levels,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “Director Tingle with GOHSEP is always boots on the ground, conjoined at the hip with the City to always do whatever is necessary to benefit our people. These partnerships are crucial as we utilize and activate these federal dollars for improvement projects across our city.”
The scope of work includes surface repairs, both minor and complete resurfacing, repairing drainage including upsized pipes, sewer and water lines and sidewalk repairs, including Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant ramps. This project is intended to help alleviate flooding using up-sized storm drainpipes, in addition to green infrastructure and will feature 100 rain gardens and more than 43,000 SF of permeable pavers.
“I want to start by thanking our partners on the state and federal level,” said Threat. “GOHSEP never hesitates after a disaster and is always the first to reach out. Director Tingle and the team at GOHSEP are responsible for funneling federal dollars to the City of New Orleans for projects such as these. All you have to do is ride around and see all the work being done in our city. We are excited about this work and even more excited to bring meaningful projects like these to fruition. Thank you to our partners on all levels for continuing to make sound investments in the City of New Orleans.”
“When you look at the history of this area, the last time we saw significant infrastructure improvements was between 1907 and 1908,” said Spooner. “This infrastructure has lasted us 115 years, so this is a monumental investment into the quality of life in this area. Investments in infrastructure in the City of New Orleans is what we do and what we will continue to do.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) provided all funding for this project.
“We certainly are happy to be a partner with this project and with the City of New Orleans,” said Tingle. “As we think about all the things GOHSEP does, a lot of what we do is not seen, but investments like this and the work we do within mitigation programs with our local partners allow us to avoid losses in the first place. When we think about the residents and the benefits they will see from the improvements to drainage, we see just how important projects like these are of value to residents of the city.”
“Partnerships are why we are here, and none of this would be possible without the entities standing here today. All these folks continue to come together to serve one purpose, and that is to make a better city,” said Councilmember King. “We all know how vitally important green infrastructure projects are to the City of New Orleans, and I am happy to see them right here in District C.”
Since May 2018, DPW has completed 160 projects with an estimated value of $585 million. Today, 58 roadwork projects are under construction with an estimated value of nearly $624 million.
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