P.O. Box 24378 New Orleans, LA 70184 504.324.2270
District Five
Recovery News
Infrastructure Committee Meeting Minutes
05/30/06
The director of Public Works for The City of New Orleans addressed our meeting concerning the plan that he has to repair the streets, catch basins, street lights, traffic lights and signs. There are many programs in the works to make the necessary repairs and the problems will be fixed in the order in which the department receives the notification. The City needs gas, sewerage and drainage problems fixed before street repairs can begin.
The City is presently working with:
Entergy/Gas:
In order to dewater the gas lines that were flooded by Katrina, Entergy made 4000 cuts in the streets (holes) where water had filled up the gas lines. At the peak of this operation, 150 to 200 cuts per week were made in the affected areas.The first step, dewatering is about complete. The second step to replace the lines that were corroded by salt water will take some time with no fix date. Entergy is trying to get the holes fixed temporarily by mid June.
S & WB:
It was necessary to make cuts in the streets to clear lines. To date 6800 cuts have been made and there will be 10,000 cuts city wide before completion. They are behind in completion of projects, but the cuts are running even with restorations at this time. There will be a time problem with filling the holes permanently.
Corps Of Engineers:
Homeowners are responsible for damaged sidewalks. Damage caused by debris contractors to sidewalks and catch basins is a major issue. Hopefully repairs for damages caused post Katrina will be funded by FEMA.
80% of Catch Basin lines were cleaned in November. The plan is to run vacuum trucks on a regular basis. It costs $1000 to repair one Catch Basin.
We were encouraged to identify Catch Basins in need of repair or unclogging. The sooner we can achieve that information, the higher on the repair list we are.
Street Signs:
The street sign contract will go out to bid as soon as FEMA brings in the assessment of sign damage. Anyone can bid on the contract. The Public Works Department would like a contractor in each district, but that is not likely with the lowest bid factor and the fact that all contracts go out at the same time.
Junk Cars:
The State contract for the junk cars was to be given out on Thursday (June 1) and the pick up will start on Monday (June 5) State Police are presently putting stickers on junk or damaged cars.
Street Lights:
The contract for street lights has ended, but The City is hoping to restart the contracts to check the street lights. Night time patrols should be on going, but Entergy contractors refused to go out into the neighborhood at night.
The Pumps:
There will be no major floods from tropical storms with a great deal of rain if nothing is restricting pumped water. If the gates are closed at the 17th Street Canal, the temporary pumps will pump around the sheet pile wall.
Capability will be:
1000 gallons per minute by June 15: 2800 gallons per minute by July: 6000 gallons per minute by September.
Capital Projects:
These are still ongoing. On Fleur de Lis Phase I from Veterans to I-10 pushed to July
On Fleur de Lis from Harrison to I-10 within the next 3 years
On Fleur de Lis from Hammond Hwy to Harrison is 25%
Complete on design.
Robert E. Lee overlay planned from Pontchartrain Blvd. to
Elysian Fields.
The Sunken Gardens on Canal Blvd. will be relandscaped.
The West End redevelopment obstacles has been taken care of
By Katrina and this will be a huge project.
Sources of money are: 65% FEMA: 25% Federal Hwy Agency:
10% Long Term Recovery Money
We are presently surveying every block in Lakeview by using Block Captains and a special check list form. These forms will give us a wealth of information on the conditions of our streets, as well as the situation with each house. We will compile the results into a data base which will enable us to access all or part of any category. We plan to share this with The City to make sure that the needs of Lakeview are met in a timely manner. We also hope to use the “Block Captain” idea in other ways as the need becomes apparent. We hope to get additional volunteers as at this time we do not have all blocks covered.
Our “PLAN” has been in the hands of the UNO experts for several weeks now. We are working toward the incorporation of our plan with the other Neighborhood Recovery Steering Committees for a finalization.
A total of 478 demolition permits have been issued since Katrina, with 47 for the week ending May 26th, which is the greatest number issued in one week so far. Some rebuilding has begun where homes have been demolished, but many lots are sitting vacant. Getting plans, contractors, and materials takes some lead time and hopefully we will see the beginning of a rebuilding “boom” before too long.
It appears Cox Communication will have service in Lakeview before BellSouth. BellSouth is having a problem with placing the large boxes for their new fiber optic upgrades in neighborhoods.A map of Lakeview has been given to BellSouth and we are working with them for a solution of this problem. Cox Communication has already released come areas and residents are able to get phone, cable and internet services. At www.aboutcox.com you can find out if your area has been released. They are moving rapidly in the area so be sure to keep updated.