NEW ORLEANS – On Monday, Mayor LaToya Cantrell celebrated the launch of the $624,000 Lakeview Pervious Alleyway Restoration pilot project.
“We are excited to be here for Day One of a small project that could have a big impact on our infrastructure maintenance efforts while improving stormwater management to hold water and minimize street flooding. Lakeview is prone to flooding, and Lakeview neighborhoods often feature alleyways, so this could truly benefit this neighborhood. I want to thank voters for approving $500 million in bonds last year. We made this project happen with surplus bonds, which shows that we are committed to maintaining our infrastructure and doing it in a thoughtful way,” said Mayor Cantrell.
The City bond-funded pilot project by the Department of Public Works (DPW) will cover two blocks of Lakeview alleyways.
Crews will work sequentially, beginning with the alleyway between the 6300 block of Argonne Boulevard and Marshall Foch Street/Harrison Avenue and Bragg Street, and then moving to the alleyway between the 6200 block of Marshall Foch Street and General Diaz Street/French Street and Harrison Avenue.
The scope of work includes a combination of permeable (allows water to move through) concrete with a perforated pipe underneath to hold storm water and regular concrete.
The work will ensure that sanitation and other vehicles can use the alleyways without damaging the permeable panel. Work is anticipated to take approximately one month to complete on each alleyway block.
The benefits of this pilot project are twofold:
- will help to identify a permanent solution for alleyways that require continued maintenance
- will address some of the longstanding drainage issues in the Lakeview neighborhood.
“This pilot is a clear commitment from the Cantrell administration that we are finding ways to complete projects that were not addressed in the past,” said Ramsey Green, Deputy CAO for Infrastructure. “In about 60 days, each alleyway will consist of one, approximately 4-foot permeable concrete panel that can hold up to 33,512 gallons of stormwater and an approximately 4.5-foot concrete panel on either side. And the pilot will likely be replicated in other Lakeview alleyways if our assessments show strong performance and durability.”
DPW’s Daniel Lee serves as Project Manager, while Hard Rock Construction serves as the contractor.
The City already has completed two FEMA-funded projects in the Lakeview neighborhood worth approximately $11.9 million, and there are 10 more projects planned for the neighborhood — between FEMA-funded and bond-funded projects, worth approximately $54 million.
Currently, between maintenance projects and the Joint Infrastructure Program, there are 47 DPW projects under construction valued at nearly $306 million. In the next 60 days, the City will have approximately $220 million more worth of Joint Infrastructure projects going out to bid.