NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans will be in the national spotlight when President Joe Biden visits on Thursday.
He’s scheduled to tour the Sewerage & Water Board’s aging Carrollton Water Plant. The President’s visit is part of his ‘Getting America Back on Track Tour.’
New Orleans Communications Director Beau Tidwell said, “We’re very proud and excited to be welcoming President Joe Biden to New Orleans later this week. The plan is for the Mayor to meet him at the tarmac and welcome him to the city.”
Biden’s visit will focus on rebuilding America’s dated infrastructure such as roads, transit systems and utilities. His proposal tops two trillion dollars. A $111 billion chunk would go towards upgrading the country’s drinking water, storm water and waste water systems; systems like the Carrollton Water Plant.
“It’s critical and very important that you see the President right there at the Sewerage and Water Board Power Plant,” Tidwell said. “Our city is 300 years old and our infrastructure as we’ve said before has critical needs that have been unaddressed for long periods of time.”
In previous months, the Sewerage & Water Board has said how “fragile” the current system is and that it’s crumbling. There’s minimal backups to the city’s current system.
New Orleans Councilman Joe Giarrusso said, “The equipment at the Sewerage and Water Board’s Carrollton plant dates back to World War I. Any federal investment in sewer, water, or drainage infrastructure is a welcome – and much needed – investment in the future success of our city. We need these resources to improve our aging infrastructure as well as the quality of life for all residents.”
Tidwell said, “To have the President in a moment where he and the nationwide spotlight is so focused on infrastructure, I think there is no more appropriate place for him to be than New Orleans and no more appropriate place in New Orleans for him to be than at the Sewerage and Water Board.”
So far, no details on how much money New Orleans could see to upgrade infrastructure like the Carrollton Plant.
“I think now that you see activity at the federal level where there is a focus around investing in our communities and investing in critical infrastructure needs, I think we can potentially see something really great happen,” Tidwell said.
This will be Biden’s first visit to Louisiana as President.
His first stop will be in Lake Charles where the Mayor said he’ll be disappointed if the President does not talk about the ongoing hurricane recovery efforts.
Biden should arrive in New Orleans sometime Thursday afternoon.
