NEW ORLEANS, LA — Mayor LaToya Cantrell recently joined state and local leaders to mark the beginning of the $14-million Little Woods Group A roadwork project — the first of three projects in the New Orleans East neighborhood representing $27 million worth of infrastructure investment in Little Woods and more than $140 million in New Orleans East through the Joint Infrastructure Program.

“The Little Woods Group A project covers 203 city blocks in the neighborhood, stretching from Hayne Boulevard to I-10,” Cantrell said. “The scope of work also includes repaving the asphalt roadway, patching the roadway, repairing damaged sidewalks and driveway aprons, installing Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant curb ramps at intersections and replacing and/or repairing damaged underground water, sewer and/or drainage lines.”

Cantrell was joined by State Rep. John H. Bagneris (District 100); Keith LaGrange, Director of the Department of Public Works; Marlon Carrio (DPW Project Manager); Dawn Hebert of the Lake Willow subdivision; Kelly Commander, Owner, Command Construction; and MSMM Engineering. The project is expected to be completed by spring 2021.

The groundbreaking was the third of three planned events calling attention to infrastructure projects in New Orleans East; just as the $3.6-million Village De L’est Group A project came to a close, Cantrell broke ground on the $4.7-million Village De L’est Group B project. Cantrell informed residents of this work and other infrastructure projects in New Orleans East as part of an Affordable Housing Tour series.

The Capital Improvement Program is restoring the city’s aging infrastructure with an investment of local and federal dollars totaling $2.2 billion. It represents the most comprehensive program the region has seen in a generation, features more than 200 individual projects and spans more than 400 miles of roadway. When the Cantrell Administration began on May 7, 2018, less than 1 percent of the funds had been spent. Currently, the city has completed nine projects in the program worth about $25 million; there are 11 projects under construction worth about $70 million; and there is about $20 million in projects kicking off in the next 60 days.