New Orleans Public Works Department Accelerates Infrastructure Recovery

Public Professionals Work Together To Create a New City

By: Lesley Eugene
Senior Publicist

As National Public Works Week shines the spotlight on the tens of thousands of men and women who provide and maintain city infrastructures throughout the country, New Orleans celebrates the work of those who have been critical to the city’s recovery in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the subsequent flooding.

The New Orleans Public Works Department with its many divisions is responsible for a variety of city services including street lights, street signs, parking regulations, meters, citations, towing, booting and permit parking.  They are also responsible for the engineering, design and construction management of all street and pothole repair, and the cleaning and repair of storm drains and catch basins.

Robert Mendoza knows firsthand the challenge of overseeing these critical priorities in a time of crisis. Mayor C. Ray Nagin named him director of public works just months after the hurricanes and flooding. He walked into a severely damaged division of local city government with one critical goal: to repair, restore and rehabilitate the city’s infrastructure.

“Once Robert became director, the task that he was immediately faced with was to prioritize infrastructure needs and departmental requirements in light of the limited resources and current staff at that time because of the devastation caused by Katrina,” said Vicki Saulny, Assistant to the Director of Public Works.

When the storm threatened, Mayor Nagin announced a mandatory evacuation but elected to keep close by the 12 essential personnel from the department. In the wake of the storm and the massive flooding, these courageous individuals quickly restored and maintained critical departmental services street by street, performing specialized duties that include the placement of temporary stop signs at critical intersections, towing flood ravaged vehicles for emergency access and assisting in debris removal.

The city lost 4,200 street lights, 458 traffic signals, approximately 20,000 street signs and 3,700 parking meters.  A total of 66,700 catch basins and 26,000 manholes were collecting mud, silt and other debris as a result from the storm.

Employee classification and job title were irrelevant. Team work was essential and those involved understood that stabilization of key infrastructure had to be accomplished quickly and effectively.

“It was important to citizens who had begun returning to assess any damages to their property and retrieve any valuables to enter the city safely. Our first order of business was to replace or temporarily position stop signs for motorist throughout neighborhoods and major intersections,” said Saulny.

Following the storms, the city faced major financial difficulties and, like other departments, Public Works was forced to eliminate a number of positions. John Shires, former director of the Department of Public Works, announced his resignation effective December 30, 2005, but assisted in the transition of this position until the end of January 2006.  Marvin Thompson, a long time employee of the department, served as Interim Director until March of 2006, when Mendoza, an engineer and former city employee who was working as project manager for Barriere Construction Company, was named to his position. 

In August 2006, Mendoza presented three drainage initiatives to repair the city’s catch basins damaged by Katrina and the subsequent debris removal operations. Surveys conducted by the department revealed that 3,300 catch basins, or roughly 5% of the city’s total 66,783, had been damaged.  Before the end of 2005, the city cleaned 94% of the system; 62,000 catch basins and 630 miles of drain lines. An average of 250 catch basins was cleaned per week between May and December of 2006. 

Mendoza also introduced an initiative to use video surveys of drain lines that will result in cleaning reports combined with street settlement reports used in identifying areas where drain lines  had been damaged.

At the same time, the department was addressing issues with lighting. By the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the department had restored 90% of street lighting. In addition, 413 of the 458 signalized intersections were functioning, 8,000 flooded and abandoned vehicles were removed, 62,947 catch basins and 630 linear miles of storm drain pipes had been cleaned.

In addition to drainage and lighting, street signage has been a major area of focus for the department. In the Fall of 2006, Mendoza and his staff began a citywide traffic and street sign restoration program systematically divided by planning districts and designed to hit each street block by block to restore all missing or damaged signs.  Public works also developed a pavement management system to maximize maintenance dollars for roadway and drainage signs. One of Mayor Nagin’s most recent push was to purchase the PK2000 “Pothole Killer” machine that is projected to repair up to 50,000 potholes within a year.

“Although there is no single cure-all for every kind of roadway repair, the ‘Pothole Killer’ puts an economical tool at our disposal to handle our most common complaints.  Public Works is awarding contracts that use the latest technologies, methods, and materials to create a comprehensive roadway maintenance program that will expand our ability to provide service, increase our accountability, and minimize our costs,” said Mendoza.

The ‘Pothole Killer’ replaced the traditional four man potholing crew and allows the department to redeploy its resources on other infrastructure repairs.  In addition, the ‘Pothole Killer’ is outfitted with GPS tracking that will allow the department to track its movements and verify its productivity.

The city recently hosted three roadway ceremonial groundbreakings since Katrina as another testament to moving toward recovery, marking the beginning of roadway projects.

  “This was our time to move forward with city roadway improvements that were previously planned and delayed.  This administration’s focus had solely been on challenges that directly affect the recovery of New Orleans, but these events and projects signified our ability to restart our day to day operations that enhances the quality of life here in our city,” said Mayor Nagin.

“Getting back to our roadway projects was instrumental in creating that better quality of life. As part of the Mayor’s program to accelerate the recovery process, the city in re-investing in it self,” said Mendoza. 

“The project underway to improve our streets is sure to have a tremendous impact upon the neighborhood and the businesses in and around our city. We are all thrilled at the prospect of a safer, smoother drive through our neighborhoods!” said Jennifer Ng, a property owner in Lakeview.  

New Orleans remains a city built on culture and traditions. Our public works professionals continue to maintain city government department’s event after the city was nearly destroyed by Katrina and the subsequent flood waters inundated the city streets. These individuals continue to put their lives on the line to keep the people of New Orleans safe and the infrastructure intact. This department represents the new face in the operational departments. The new face is a One New Orleans logo that represents all city agencies, residents, neighborhoods, organizations and their employees with the common goal; to create a city where everyone works together in the name of One New Orleans.