NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – Some neighbors in the Tremé neighborhood are hoping the city will finish what it started, regarding ongoing roadwork.
This is the second time WGNO has visited the street after initially speaking to neighbors in June.
Edgar Sierra, who lives on Governor Nicholls Street, says he returned home earlier this month following a two-month long vacation and discovered little progress had been made in repairing the street.
“This is the condition of the meter right now, and this is the condition of the road,” Sierra said as he held a water meter in one hand and a chunk of gravel in the other.
Aside from crews replacing the pavement, they will also be replacing the water line.
Sierra believes water is seeping out onto the concrete because the old lines weren’t capped properly.
Another issue neighbors are facing is the sand. Crews used sand to cover what was once a trench on the street.
“It’s ruining the paint job on our cars with the dust constantly being kicked up,” one Governor Nicholls homeowner explained. “You have to vacuum every day because not only are you walking dirt in your house, you’re walking mud in your house.”
Neighbors say they haven’t seen anyone working on the street in five days.
“People ask me, ‘Well, when do you think it’s going to be finished?’ I say, ‘You know what? I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s not until next year’ because if you go maybe 5-6 blocks around, you’ll see more streets dug up,” the homeowner said.
According to the city’s website, construction began in October 2020, and the expected completion date is between January and March.
Neighbors hope to see it.
“I love this city, the romance of it, the mystique of it, the poetry of it,” Sierra said. “Let’s just make it a better city. We don’t need this nonsense.”
We reached out to the Department of Public Works, as well as the Sewerage and Water Board, for a response and have not heard back.