A DRIVER complained his driveway was blocked by endless construction on his local street.
The mother said her life was ruined by the “horrible and unnecessary” reconstruction in New Orleans.
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The project is part of an ambitious $2 billion infrastructure program that has been plagued by problems since the devastating Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans in 2005.
Builders locked resident Brittany Clay in her own garage while they dug a trench, she told the local newspaper, Nola.
She also had to deal with constant construction noise – and her water supply was cut off at one point.
“It’s horrible, I didn’t even see anything wrong with this street,” Clay said in 2022, two years after the project began.
She was struggling to work from home because of the constant noise.
The mother was also stressed about having to park far from home as she feared her vehicle would be stolen.
Nola said this was one of many complaints about such programs overseen by New Orleans public works officials.
Contractors were blamed for the delays, with municipal bosses telling residents that builders had been told to complete the projects.
Additionally, residents complained about mud and gravel on the roads – but builders suddenly disappeared from unfinished projects.
Two years ago, there were almost 60 such projects underway.
It’s horrible, I didn’t even see anything wrong on that street.
Brittany Clay
However, the contractors rejected the criticism, telling the newspaper that it was not their fault, as it was due to bureaucracy.
“It’s a process of continuous improvement with this program,” said Sarah McLaughlin Porteous, spokeswoman for the road construction program.
“We’re going to see some dramatic changes…in terms of what’s happening on our streets.”
EXPENSIVE CAR REPAIRS
There was even a threat of money being temporarily withheld to force builders to pick up the pace.
One resident, Penny Alexander, told Nola that her car had to be repaired several times because of damage caused by gravel dumped on local streets.
She blamed the crisis on city bosses greenlighting too many projects at once, causing chaos for residents and businesses.
I think we have momentum. I think we’re going to get out of this.
Joe Menace
After the flood of complaints, authorities postponed new works.
They also ordered a block-by-block schedule — requiring contractors to finish one street before moving on to the next.
In an update on the situation, Nola reported last March that progress had been made on the thousands of blocks under construction for the massive road works project.
But local council members told Joe Threat, New Orleans’ infrastructure chief, that they were still dealing with complaints.
Residents complained about the lack of public lighting in entire neighborhoods, the noise from buildings and poor quality sidewalks.
“As soon as we get out of these big excavations we have all over the city, 3,000 blocks — that’s a lot — we’ll be rocking and rolling,” Threat said.
“I think we have momentum. I think we’re going to get out of this.”
Hurricane Katrina passed through the Gulf of Mexico and overwhelmed New Orleans’ levees with extra water.
Up to 80% of the city was flooded to depths of almost 6 meters.
What was Hurricane Katrina?
Hurricane Katrina is one of the most devastating storms to ever hit the United States.
- Katrina caused $125 billion worth of damage when it devastated New Orleans
- More than 1,800 people died during the storm in August 2005
- It is tied for the costliest on record with the 2017 Hurricane Harvey storm.
- The storm left 80% of the city flooded for weeks
- Flood protection systems known as levees were unable to cope with the storm
- Winds of up to 200 km/h hit New Orleans
- Norovirus took hold among evacuees after the storm
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
