Uptown Messenger (https://uptownmessenger.com/category/transportation/)
The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority will introduce its revamped New Links routes and schedule on Sunday (Sept. 25). To mark the occasion, it is offering a four-day free fare promotion from Sunday to Thursday (Sept. 28). The free fares will allow riders to adjust to RTA’s bus system redesign with new routes without having to pay for their trips.
From the Mayor’s Office
On Monday (May 23), weather permitting, the city’s Department of Public Works contractor, Boh Brothers Construction Co., will begin construction on the Martin Luther King Jr. Patch Mill Overlay project, extending from St. Charles Avenue to South Claiborne Avenue. Parking restrictions and temporary changes to traffic patterns along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard will start at 7:30 a.m. and will remain in effect throughout the duration of the project. Construction crews will be working the full length of the travel lane in each direction from St. Charles to South Claiborne.
Construction on the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard Patch, Mill and Overlay project is scheduled to begin in May and the city expects it to continue for about 14 months. The city is holding a pre-construction community meeting on Tuesday (April 26) from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Allie Mae Williams Multi-Service Center second-floor meeting room at 2020 Jackson Ave. See here to register. A copy of the presentation will be sent to all registrants and uploaded to roadwork.nola.gov/projects before the meeting. Protected bike lanes will be added in both directions of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
A swath of Central City will see repairs to its streets and sidewalks, from basic repaving to the total replacement of sewerage, water and drainage lines and reconstruction of the streets and sidewalks. The work is scheduled for January 2022 to January 2023. The project is under the Sewerage & Water Board and Department of Public Works’ Joint Infrastructure Program, which oversees the implementation of more than $2 billion of federal funding allocated for hundreds of miles of road repair. The $18.4 million Central City Group B project covers a roughly triangular area from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Washington Avenue to St. Charles Avenue, bounded by Toledano Street and MLK Boulevard.
From the Mayor’s Office
New Orleans Department of Public Works and Louisiana Department of Transportation contractor Hard Rock Construction will begin construction on Magazine Street in and near Audubon Park next week. On Jan. 4, 2022, crews will begin lane closures on Magazine Street from Leake Avenue to West Drive to begin sewer and water line work on the first phase of the project, on the river side of Magazine. During this phase of work, eastbound traffic will be detoured to St. Charles Avenue via Broadway Street.
The Department of Public Works and its contractor Pavement Markings last week completed work on the Broad Street overpass that featured upgrades and maintenance on the bike lanes between Third Street and Tulane Avenue. The wide bollards on the overpass were replaced with narrow delineator flexposts to allow for regular cleaning by the city’s bike lane sweeper. The renovation of the bike lanes also included refreshed roadway markings, overall cleaning and green bike lane surfacing. “We recognize that infrastructure maintenance is just as important as the infrastructure work itself,” said Josh Hartley, the acting director of the city’s Department of Public Works. The protected bike lanes were added to the Broad Street overpass in 2019 to more safely connect Mid-City and Uptown neighborhoods, Hartley said.
Beginning on Monday (Oct. 25) at 7 a.m., weather permitting, crews will close Octavia Street between Clara and Freret streets for approximately six months to safely accommodate full reconstruction of the roadway. The city’s contractor, Command Construction Industries, is starting construction on the $5.1 million bond-funded Octavia (Freret to Claiborne) full-depth reconstruction project. New roadways, sidewalks and underground utilities (water, sewer and drainage) are expected to be complete by summer 2022. In general, Command Construction Industries will be working from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Permission to work on weekends may also be granted, if necessary.
Loyola University New Orleans will be hosting the 2021 New Orleans Electric Vehicle Showcase on Saturday (Sept. 25). Owners and would-be owners of electric vehicles are invited to the free event giving the public a chance to look under the hood of some of the latest electric cars from brands like Chevrolet, Nissan and Tesla. It is part of National Drive Electric Week and is presented by the city of New Orleans, Entergy New Orleans and the Southeast Louisiana Clean Fuel Partnership. Loyola University has promoted transitioning to cleaner fuels since 2011, when it installed two electric charging stations in the main entrance to campus on St.
City Hall’s Neighborhood Engagement Office will host the Blue Krewe, on Monday (July 12) during Community Office Hours at the Milton H. Latter Memorial Library, 5120 St. Charles Ave.
The Blue Krewe, a group working to bring back the Blue Bike program, will be available to meet with residents June 12 by appointment from 1 to 5 p.m.
The Blue Krewe will be sharing information on the Bikes for All reduced fare program and bike-sharing during the District B Office Hours. They will also perform a demonstration of the new pedal-assist e-bike.
The Community Office Hours program is the city’s way of improving the communication between residents and City Hall. The meetings are separated by City Council district to better focus on the area’s needs.
The Office Hours are Monday through Wednesday from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Residents can voice their concerns to their representative in the Neighborhood Engagement Office or an invited guest. Meetings are in-person or virtual, but appointments are required.
District B Community Office Hours were moved in June from the Rosa F. Keller Library & Community Center to Milton H. Latter Memorial Library.
From the Mayor’s Office
The Mayor’s Office announced in its monthly roadwork update that 60 roadwork projects are currently underway around the city, totaling over $600 million. They said that the city hopes to demonstrate accountability and effectiveness in its current infrastructure projects in order to help secure more federal infrastructure funding in the future. The mayor’s message also said that, with hurricane season underway, the city is working with contractors to make sure they are prepared to secure construction sites in the event of serious tropical weather. Roadwork NOLA released updates on the following projects in Uptown: Broadmoor Group A, Marlyville-Fountainebleau Group C, Octavia Street, East Riverside/Garden District/Irish Channel/St. Thomas, Black Pearl/East Carrollton, Black Pearl Group B, State Street, and Hollygrove-Leonidas.
The Mayor’s Office announced in its monthly roadwork newsletter that an unprecedented amount of infrastructure work — altogether more than $550 million in roadway and other projects — is currently underway in New Orleans. Mayor LaToya Cantrell also said more more projects are in the works. She noted that $350 million in bonds approved for a tax-exempt sale will lead to multiple projects out for advertisement in the coming months. These projects include improving public spaces, adding stormwater storage and fixing streets. Additionally, about $100 million in joint infrastructure roadway projects, $10 million in capital building projects, and $100 million in green infrastructure projects will go out for bid in the next few months.
