NEW ORLEANS — “Bumps in the road” doesn’t even begin to cover it. After someone fell into a giant hole in the sidewalk at Chewbacchus over the weekend, Eyewitness News hit the road looking for unfinished construction projects, closed sidewalks, and other messes along parade routes in New Orleans.
Over the course of a four-hour journey through the city, our crew found almost 20 hazards or other issues from the Marigny to Uptown.
The first came just four blocks into the Zulu parade route at Jackson and South Robertson, and another Sewerage and Water Board barrel stands at Jackson and Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard.
And following the route down St. Charles, there are two hazards on the neutral ground near Marengo Street. Just a little further down the street, there’s an electrical box sticking out of the neutral ground near Avenue Pub.
On St. Charles in the CBD, we found a hole several feet deep full of garbage and exposed pipes. The hole is only covered with three planks of wood.
And right across the intersection on Common Street, a whole sidewalk is ripped up and impassable.
If you’re keeping count, that’s eight projects or messes we were able to spot right on the route for more than a dozen parades.
In Mid City, Endymion will pass over a pretty significant pothole on South White Street. And neutral ground paradegoers will find a former traffic light sticking up at North Alexander and Orleans Avenue.
There’s also a freshly-filled pothole at Canal and North Prieur Streets that Eyewitness News emailed the city about last week.
Heading to the Marigny, Krewe Boheme’s route is off to a rough start with more than a full block of rough road on Decatur. Part of the route isn’t even paved at Royal and Touro.
And along the routes in the French Quarter, there’s orange construction fencing everywhere. We found closed sidewalks on almost every block of the Krewe Du Vieux and Krewe Delusion routes.
You’ll find stacks of bricks or plywood covering messes on St. Ann, St. Peter, Barracks, Urselines, and even a big mess on Governor Nicholls and Royal.
That mess actually included a mattress and a bag of trash last week until Eyewitness News asked the city about it. The city said it was a part of an “Entergy gas exploratory work related to an upcoming planned project on Decatur.” The city said it would be restored by this week.
In addition, you’ll find a deep pothole with a cone sticking out at North Rampart and St. Peter in the French Quarter, and two blocks of North Rampart Street are currently closed to traffic. Krewe Boheme is expected to roll there Friday night.
If Chewbacchus was any indication, the krewes are ready to roll. But as the international spotlight shines on New Orleans this Mardi Gras, these issues, too, will be in full view.