NEW ORLEANS — The City of New Orleans shared new details with WWL-TV Saturday afternoon as to why two major roadwork projects were postponed last week.
The first project would have closed South Carrollton between Earhart Blvd. and Fig Street on Monday, Oct. 3, but that morning the City sent out a notice that the project was postponed.
According to the City of New Orleans, this work is part of the $15.1 million Marlyville-Fontainebleau Group C Project.
The City said Saturday that it "hit some delays due to added scope and some unforeseen but necessary design changes."
"The postponement of the Earhart closure will not impact the new estimated completion timeframe of first quarter 2023," the City said in an email, "The Earhart detour was postponed to allow other work in the area to wrap up so that detours did not overlap."
The $5.5M Magazine Street (Leake Avenue to East Drive) Project was postponed on Thursday, Oct. 6 and rescheduled to begin this upcoming week.
The City said that the work schedule shifted due to the discovery of subsurface rail tracks that require special handling for removal.
"The Magazine work was delayed while we waited for final approval from our LaDOTD partners. The approval has been received, and we are on track to begin this scope of work on Tuesday, weather permitting," the City said.
Both of these road closures were only postponed and are not cancelled, the City said.
Last week business and homeowners near the scheduled projects expressed frustration that they were either not notified by the City, or they were notified, and the work didn't begin.
According to the City, they ask that contractors utilize the ‘We Are Working’ flyers to notify residents at least 48-hours in advance of work starting on their specific block. The notification should include dates, scope of work and special instructions related to parking and sanitation.
"We acknowledge that contractors and their sub-contractors are not always timely with notifications," the City said, "Therefore, The Department of Public Works has added language to all new contracts awarded that will hold contractors liable for insufficient notification to the community."
According to the City, there will be a shift on some projects to utilize Workforce Development in providing supplemental support for canvassing on weekends.
The City of New Orleans is encouraging residents to text ROADWORK to 77295 and follow the link to include your address in your profile or go to ready.nola.gov/alerts to create a whole profile and select the “roadwork” alert list to receive text notifications about weekend work and water service disruptions in your area.