New Orleans Launches In-House Street Repair Crew, Allocates $6.25 Million
NEW ORLEANS – Mayor Helena Moreno announced a new initiative on , to address the city’s ongoing infrastructure challenges with the creation of a dedicated, in-house street paving unit. The move, described as a commitment to rapidly improving basic infrastructure services, will see $6.25 million allocated to street paving projects.
The Street Maintenance Unit represents the city’s first durable, in-house street and infrastructure repair group in years, according to the Mayor’s office. The unit was established as part of a series of executive actions taken on Mayor Moreno’s first day in office and is intended to expedite the delivery of what she termed “Super Bowl” level infrastructure services across New Orleans.
“As a candidate, I promised Super Bowl level coordination for infrastructure repairs – and as Mayor, we are delivering on that promise with the new in-house paving unit and the allocation of more than $6 million to get workers started on these necessary improvements,” Mayor Moreno said in a statement. She emphasized a focus on local hiring, stating, “We like to think of this task force as NOLA taking care of NOLA, as we focus on hiring people from the city to tackle the work that needs to be done.”
The funding for the initiative will come from unused portions of bonds issued between 2019 and 2024. An ordinance to support the creation of the unit, to be introduced on , involves reallocating $5.8 million from projects initially slated for bids from private contractors. This will allow the city to perform the work internally with a newly formed pavement crew.
The Department of Public Works will hire 50 employees to staff the Street Paving Unit, providing employment opportunities for New Orleans residents. City officials highlighted the opportunity for citizens to directly contribute to improving their community.
Additional funding reallocations include $283,500 from the cancelled Broad Street Bridge Delineator Upgrades project – with plans to seek grant funding to replace those funds – $17,693 from Downtown Development District drainage improvements, and $144,450 from a cancelled French Quarter construction project.
The move towards an in-house repair unit is expected to increase accountability in street maintenance, according to Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Steve Nelson. He indicated the city aims to have the 50 new employees hired within the year and working on streets throughout New Orleans.
The plan appears to have broad support from the New Orleans City Council, with a majority of members present during Wednesday’s announcement.
