NEW ORLEANS — Just off exit 248 in New Orleans East is a known spot for illegal dumping, tires in particular. It’s also been the target of a massive cleanup effort by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.
“Our crews are working very hard,” said District 2 Engineer Administrator Scott Boyle.
Boyle says crews have collected more than 11,000 tires since October at the Michoud Boulevard interchange off I-10.
“People were exiting the interstate ramp, going 50, 60 miles an hour and there were piles of towers right adjacent to the exit ramps,” said Boyle.
Those piles of tires are now gone, added to the more than 40,000 that Boyle says have been picked up in New Orleans East since 2022. It’s not just happening in the city.
“It’s a reoccurring problem and I believe it’s getting worse,” said St. James Parish Director of Operations Rick Webre.
Webre says used tires were illegally dumped along Highway 3125 last week. The nearly 200 tires were hauled off for proper disposal.
“It appears to be, maybe some commercial vendors that accept the disposing fee but not disposing properly of the tires through DEQ,” said Webre. “We see it along the interstate in the rural area. We see it along some of the state highways in the rural area and we’re talking about hundreds of tires per site.”
Webre says the parish is working with the sheriff’s office to figure out ways to fix the problem and catch the people responsible.
“Unauthorized dumping is difficult to control,” said Webre. “You almost have to catch them in the act of doing it to begin with or you’ve got to find some evidence on site.”
Boyle says DOTD can’t enforce dumping laws but must clean up the mess, paid for by taxpayers. Since October, Boyle says taxpayers spent about $130,000 at the Michoud interchange.
“Final numbers have not been determined but we’re confident it’s been at least $130,000 in resources which includes labor, equipment, and material usage to cleanup that interchange,” said Boyle. “To see that magnitude of tires is quite frankly overwhelming.”
Cleanup can be overwhelming too, especially when piles of trash and tires show up after the area is cleaned.
“It’s been a challenge that some of these areas have been a proliferation of this type of activity,” said Boyle
Boyle says the DOTD is in the process of finalizing paperwork to have cameras installed at the Michoud interchange.
The New Orleans city council even passed an ordinance imposing fees and seizure of vehicles belonging to anyone who is caught illegally dumping.
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