NEW ORLEANS — Neighbors on South St. Patrick Street in Mid City posted videos of their flooded roadway on social media, hoping New Orleans leaders take notice.
“It used to flood here like this if it would rain for two or three hours,” Shannon Johnson said. “But now it’s 15-20 minutes and it’s knee-high water every time.”
Johnson has lived on this street for about ten years.
Crews started tearing up St. Patrick between Banks and Baudin in April 2021.
Johnson said it’s been a series of starts and mostly stops since then.
“This storm drain here has water just sitting there. You can see that none of this water is moving into that drain at all. This street is maybe 75 yards long and they’ve been working on it for well over a year at this point and it’s just not even close to being finished,” Johnson said.
Nelwin Thibodeaux is in the street just about every day, picking up trash from the latest flood.
“What’s really disheartening is we try to keep the yards up; try to make it a nice neighborhood and it just washes the trash up,” Thibodeaux said. “We’re constantly having to clean the yard, clean the driveways. It’s just frustrating.”
Ben Markey owns the Mid City Yacht Club on the corner.
He said every time it rains, the street in front of his business floods from sidewalk to sidewalk.
“The water gets up to the doorstep and customers cannot get in the business. Cars come down the street and push water into our vehicles,” Markey said. “Trash cans get turned over, full of trash.”
Johnson said the construction delays have left her and her neighbors. infinitely frustrated.
“I don’t know if that’s a coordination problem. I don’t know if it’s different groups doing different things or if it’s one group just not planning their schedule well," Johnson said.