The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) continually performs routine repairs to the city’s water and sewer pipes that lay below city streets. Once a repair is complete, the utility cut is backfilled temporarily with sand and crushed concrete. The temporary fill in these cuts often erodes, leaving uneven pavement.
To make the roads safer for motorists and neighborhood residents, the Department of Public Works is investing $6.5 M in Capital Funds to pave approximately 900 open roadway utility cuts across the city. To date, nearly fifty-three percent are either in process or have been completed.
In an effort to increase performance and efficiency the work orders are being grouped geographically into four areas: work began in Area 1 on November 5; work will begin in Area 2 in early February, and work will begin in Areas 3 and 4 in spring 2019.
The City and SWBNO are using Royal Engineers & Consultants, LLC for Quality Assurance / Quality Control. In general, construction crews will be working from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, although unforeseen impacts to the project schedule (e.g. weather) could require some work on the weekends.
New utility cuts that are opened after construction begins in a given area will not be included in this program and will remain with SWBNO for permanent paving restoration.