Brand-new street is an 'eye sore,' neighbors want solution
Neighbors in one part of Lakeview are looking for answers after a number of problems with their recently repaired street.
"Our street, Memphis, was completed in July 2023, and since then, I think it's been six or seven months, we've already had two repairs," said Chad LaRose.
LaRose reached out to the Road Patrol, hoping to get answers from the Department of Public Works. He says two months after a stretch of Memphis Street near his home was fixed, DPW dug up a portion of the street to address drainage issues.
Now, neighbors say they don't know if the repair was even completed because crews left cones and cracked concrete instead of repaving the street.
He and others were excited when they learned their street would be repaired, but what followed was anything but pretty.
"There were leaks on the street, not six months after, right in front of my house," LaRose said.
In fact, LaRose said it was a mess.
"And this wasn't just resurfacing asphalt. They dug up about 2-3 feet down. They replaced water lines, lines into each individual house, you would think, the drainage is what it's supposed to be with a new street, but it's not," he said.
LaRose said brand new streets with foundational issues underground seem to be a common occurrence across the city.
"It just seems like it's a recurring issue that every time you see a new repair, or street fixed, they have to come back up, either SWBNO or DPW, that the construction company didn't do properly or the quality just wasn't there," LaRose said.
He wants to know if the root of the problem is the quality of the work being done by contractors, or the lack of aftercare once the project is completed.
"I think a lot of it lies with the construction companies that are coming out. Are they doing a quality job are they doing and then, where's the maintenance?" LaRose said.
LaRose is also questioning who should be held accountable when these problems arise, The city of New Orleans? The Department of Public Works? Or should the contractor bear the responsibility?
"We have budgets for new streets, but it doesn't seem to be any maintenance going on to keep the streets new and it's frustrating. If this was a 20-30 year old street, OK, but the street isn't a year old," LaRose said.
LaRose said he's been patient long enough. Now, it's time for progress.
" So I know the city, it's a lot to fix, but it's just frustrating when we get hope that there is progress, and then we see stuff like this immediately after," he said.