Media Clips

February 4, 2009

CONTACT:
CITY OF NEW ORLEANS
Mayor’s Press Office
1300 Perdido Street, Suite 2E04
New Orleans, Louisiana 70112

CITY BEGINS REHABILITATION OF GENERAL DEGAULLE DRIVE IN ALGIERS

The City of New Orleans Department of Public Works and the Algiers Development District today announced that construction on General DeGaulle Drive from Holiday Drive to Behrman Place will be completed before the first Mardi Gras parade, scheduled to pass on the Westbank on Friday, February 13. The 0.2 mile rehabilitation project began on Monday, February 2.

“This is another testament to what we’ve been saying -- this recovery is moving forward,” said Mayor C. Ray Nagin. “We’ve been working hard to repair our critical infrastructure and have been rebuilding streets and facilities at unprecedented levels city wide.”

Funded by the Tax Incremental Finance (TIF) dollars from the Behrman Highway Walmart Center, the $149,000 rehabilitation project includes the removal and replacement of existing asphalt roadway, concrete base patching where necessary and installation of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant ramps in sidewalks at affected intersections.

“The City would like to thank State House of Representatives Speaker of the House Jim Tucker, State Representative Jeff Arnold and State Senator David Heitmeier for supporting this project,” said Robert Mendoza, Director of Public Works. “Their support helped to finance and expedite this long-awaited rehabilitation project.”

“The roadway had become so bad that people were actually avoiding this section of General DeGaulle Drive,” stated Louisiana State Representative and Algiers Development District Chairman Jeff Arnold. “We knew we had to step up and get it fixed. The District worked with the City to hire an approved contractor to do the work. This is another way that we use our funds to help the Algiers area, in addition to our work with the Federal City project.”

Boh Bros. Construction Co., LLC will perform construction services with construction management oversight provided by MWH, the city’s project management firm.

“As we enter the Carnival season, we understand that parade routes need to be free from construction; therefore, construction will be completed prior to the first Algiers parade on February 13,” said Mendoza. “Work in the eastbound lanes, towards English Turn, will take place from 7 a.m to 3 p.m. Work on the westbound lanes, towards the Crescent City Connection, will take place from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Residents traveling through this area should expect delays.”

The Department of Public Works has reached many milestones in repairing roadways and sidewalks damage by flooding and debris removal following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. To date, the department has repaired more than 2,600 individual sites that were damaged as a result of the storms. More than 17,000 individual sites and 6,000 blocks will be repaired by 2010 in neighborhoods throughout the City.

In 2008, the department completed 21 street rehabilitation projects and moved 39 projects in to construction phase. Within the next three months, the City plans to break ground on more than 10 new rehabilitation projects.

Algiers Development District
The Algiers Development District of the City of New Orleans is a special taxing district (TIF) created by state legislation. The special taxing district is comprised of all territory within the fifteenth ward (Algiers) of Orleans Parish, State of Louisiana. The district has been designated as a local redevelopment authority for Federal City military base realignment purposes and has been authorized to incur debt, including revenue bonds from revenue sources for its enumerated purposes.

For more information, visit www.cityofno.com or contact State Representative Jeff Arnold at 504.812.8651 for more information regarding the TIF.