Habitat for Humanity kicks off volunteer blitz in Mantua [Video]

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NEW ORLEANS IS ATTEMPTING TO TACKLE HUNDREDS OF MAJOR PROJECTS BEFORE HOSTING THE SUPER BOWL, BUT CONCERNS ARE GROWING THAT SOME OF THE PROJECTS WONT BE DONE IN TIME. WDSU INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER CASSIE SCHERM IS LIVE AT THE FRENCH QUARTER, WHERE THE WORK TO FIX THE STREET IS UNDERWAY, AND CASSIE HAS AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE PROGRESS AND OR THE LACK THEREOF. CASSIE. THATS RIGHT GUYS. SO HERE IN THE QUARTER, ITS EXPECTED TO BE A MAJOR HEADACHE. WERE ON THE OUTSKIRTS RIGHT NOW, BUT INSIDE WERE EXPECTING A MAJOR TEAR UP OF ROADS TO HOPEFULLY MAKE IT POTHOLE FREE. BUT THEY ARE UP AGAINST THE CLOCK AS WE ARE LESS THAN 90 DAYS AWAY FROM THE BIG GAME. DRIVING AROUND DOWNTOWN NEW ORLEANS, ITS NOT HARD TO FIND STREET CLOSURES, SIGNS AND CONES. JUST ABOUT EVERYWHERE. AS THE CITY AND STATE SPRINT TO FINISH MORE THAN 540 INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, BRINGING WITH IT TRAFFIC. IF THERES EVEN ONE LANE CLOSED BECAUSE OF CONSTRUCTION, IT REALLY CAUSES THINGS TO GET BACKED UP. IMPACTS ON LOCAL BUSINESSES. WE WERENT ABLE TO PARK OUT HERE FOR ABOUT 2 TO 3 MONTHS. THE CONSTRUCTION AND ALL THATS BEEN EXTREMELY TOUGH AND SOME MIXED COMMUNITY EMOTIONS. TONIGHT THEYRE DOING ALL THIS WORK, BUT MAN, ITS ITS ITS CRAZY. UNTIL THEY GET IT FINISHED WITH ALL THIS CHAOS, WDSU GOT AN EXCLUSIVE INSIDE LOOK TO SEE IF NEW ORLEANS WILL BE READY. ARE THOSE ALL GOING TO BE PICKED UP BY SUPER BOWL TIME? THEY WILL BE. YEAH. SO THE GENERAL PLAN FROM FROM EVERYBODY IS THAT EVERYTHING IS DONE BY DECEMBER 31ST. INEVITABLY THERE WILL BE DRIPS AND DRABS THAT LEAK OVER TO THE NEW YEAR. REALITY IS, COME FEBRUARY. WERE WERE GOING WITH WHAT WE GOT. I SAT DOWN WITH MICHAEL HECHT WITH GREATER NEW ORLEANS INCORPORATED. HE WAS APPOINTED BY GOVERNOR JEFF LANDRY TO BE THE POINT PERSON TO MANAGE INFRASTRUCTURE AND BEAUTIFICATION PROJECTS BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE STATE. SO ITS A LOT HAPPENING ALL AT ONCE. AND THERE IS A BIT OF A FEELING OF, OH MAN, THE PARENTS ARE COMING HOME IN TWO HOURS. WE GOT TO CLEAN UP. HEX SAYS HE BELIEVES THE MAJORITY OF THE LIST WILL BE DONE BEFORE KICKOFF. THE NEW ORLEANS THAT THE WORLD SEES IN FEBRUARY IS GOING TO BE ONE THAT WERE ALL VERY PROUD OF. WDSU INVESTIGATES GOT AN EXCLUSIVE LOOK AT THE GAME PLANS FOR THE PROJECTS COSTING NEARLY $60 MILLION FOR PROJECTS IN PROGRESS HERE AT THE OLD HARD ROCK SITE. THEYRE DOING A COMPLETE OVERHAUL OF ALL THE ROADS, THE SIDEWALKS AND THE PIPELINES. NOW, HERE IN THE CBD, THERES MULTIPLE PROJECTS IN THE WORKS ALL THE WAY DOWN JULIA STREET FROM ELECTRICAL TO ROADWAYS AND THE SIDEWALK AND JUST STEPS FROM THE DOME. THE STREETS HAVE ALREADY BEEN REPAVED, BUT NOW ITS TIME FOR THE SIDEWALKS TO GET A FACELIFT TO FIX THE CRACKS, BUT ALSO MAKE THEM ADA ACCESSIBLE ON THE MAIN ROADS AROUND CITY HALL. MANY OF THE ROADS LOOK LIKE THIS ONE. LARGE HOLES IN THE GROUND FOR ELECTRICAL WORK, MAKING SOME OF THOSE ROADS DOWN TO ONE LANE. THE DOWNTOWN PROJECT HERE IN NEW ORLEANS, EAST RIGHT OUTSIDE THE LAKEVIEW AIRPORT, IS ALREADY IN THE WORKS. SO FAR, THEYVE STARTED ON THE SIDEWALKS AND LATER THIS WEEK THEYLL HIT THE ROADS. NOW HEC TELLS ME THIS PROJECT AND ALL THE OTHER ONES WILL BE FINISHED BY THE NEW YEAR. SOME OF THE PROJECTS ALREADY DONE POYDRAS ROADWAYS ARE COMPLETE. 90% OF 301 WORK ORDERS IN THE CLEAN ZONE AREAS FIXED NEW LIGHTS FOR THE CRESCENT CITY CONNECTION. 99 PUMPS HAVE BEEN REPLACED ACROSS THE SYSTEM. ALL ABOARD AND THE UNION PASSENGER TERMINAL. HOWARD AVENUE EXTENSION IS DONE WHILE HEC SAYS EVERYTHING IS BACK ON TRACK. WDSU INVESTIGATES CAPTURED LARGER PROJECTS LIKE PLAZA TOWER LOOKING LIKE A FUMBLE AHEAD OF THE SUPER BOWL. OUR DRONE CAPTURES THE BUILDING WITHERED, AND THE NET SURROUNDING THE BUILDING TORN. THE BUILDING JUST BLOCKS AWAY FROM THE SUPERDOME, DEEMED A SAFETY HAZARD. HEC TELLS ME SOME PATCHWORK WILL BE PUT IN PLACE. I THINK WHAT WERE GOING TO END UP DOING IS ON THE TWO CORNERS FACING THE TRAIN STATION, WHICH IS I GUESS, HOWARD AND LOYOLA. WERE GOING TO PUT SOME TYPE OF DECORATIVE WRAP AROUND THAT, WHICH WILL BEAUTIFY THE REAL EYESORE. PART OF THAT YOU SEE FROM THE STREET. THERES A HUGE MARBLE FASCIA. WERE GOING TO PUT A MASSIVE, PROBABLY A VINYL UP THERE. SO I DONT THINK THAT YOURE GOING TO SEE PLAZA TOWER LOOKING SHINY AND NEW AND WHOLE. BUT I THINK VISUALLY IT SHOULD IT SHOULD STILL LOOK MUCH BETTER, EVEN IF THE, THE HAIRNET THING IS STILL UP THERE. ANOTHER CONCERN, WDSU INVESTIGATES HAS REPEATEDLY REPORTED ON IS THE LIGHTS OUT ON I-10 FOR MORE THAN A YEAR. JUST THIS WEEK, STILL IN THE DARK. I DONT UNDERSTAND WHY ITS SO HARD TO GET IT FIXED. ITS A PROJECT THAT HEC SAYS WILL BE WORKED ON IN THE COMING MONTHS AS THEY PLAY CATCH UP, FIXING MAYBE TEN YEARS OR MORE OF DEFERRED MAINTENANCE. THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WERE MAKING ARE NOT JUST LIPSTICK ON A PIG. ITS LIKE A WHOLE NEW HOG. THEYRE GOING TO LAST FOR TEN, 20 YEARS BEYOND. WHY DO YOU THINK THERES BEEN SUCH A LACK OF FOCUS ON INFRASTRUCTURE OVER THE PAST COUPLE DECADES? I THINK ITS ALWAYS EASY TO SORT OF SAY THE FRUIT OF IT IS GOING TO BE SO FAR IN THE FUTURE THAT SOMEBODY ELSES PROBLEM AND NOT MINE. COUNCIL MEMBER JOE GIARRUSSO SAYS THE HIGH TURNOVER RATE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS HAS LEFT THE CITY WITHOUT A SOLID PLAN. YOU HAVE A DIFFERENT PERSON WHO HAS A DIFFERENT PHILOSOPHY, WHO WANTS TO TRY DIFFERENT THINGS, AND THEN YOU HAVE THEM FOR MAYBE A YEAR OR 18 MONTHS, AND THEN THEY LEAVE AND THEIR SUCCESSOR COMES IN THE SUCCESSOR HAS TO PICK UP THE BALL FROM WHERE THE PERSON LEFT WAS. AND LOOK, I HATE TO USE THE SPORTS ANALOGY, BUT THERES A REASON WHY YOU TRY AND STICK WITH A COACH FOR A FEW YEARS. IS BECAUSE WHEN YOU CONSISTENTLY HAVE THAT TURNOVER AND THOSE PHILOSOPHIES CHANGE, IT MAKES IT HARDER TO PLAY. A LACK OF ACTIONS LEADING TO INTERCEPTIONS. ITS LIKE A RUSH TO JUDGMENT. YOU KNOW, TO GET THINGS DONE. WHY COULDNT IT HAVE BEEN ALL ALONG AND WED BE PREPARED? I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE JUST FRUSTRATED BECAUSE SO MUCH IS HAPPENING NOW. YEAH. INSTEAD OF EARLIER ON WHEN ITS BEEN SITTING LIKE THIS FOR DECADES. RIGHT. FAIR. WHATS INTERESTING IN THIS IS THAT THE CONSTRAINT HAS NEVER BEEN MONEY. ITS BEEN ABOUT DEPLOYMENT. SECRET SAUCE HERE IS SO BASIC AND OBVIOUS, BUT IT DOES NEED TO BE SAID BECAUSE IT IS WHATS MAKING THE DIFFERENCE. WEEKLY MEETINGS ARE CREATING AN URGENCY. THEYRE CREATING ACCOUNTABILITY, AND THEYRE CREATING, MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE ABILITY TO COORDINATE BY BEING IN THE SAME ROOM AT THE SAME TIME. HECK SAYS EVEN AFTER THE CLOCK RUNS OUT, THE MEETINGS WILL CONTINUE AND THEY WILL START FOCUSING ON OTHER AREAS OF THE CITY INSTEAD OF FOCUSING ON THE FRUSTRATION WITH THE PAST, I WOULD. ID BE ENCOURAGED BY WHAT WERE SEEING AND KNOWING THAT THIS IS NOT A ONE OFF. THIS SHOULD BECOME THE NEW NORMAL. NOW, THE LATEST CONCERN TO COME UP WHEN IT COMES TO THE SUPER BOWL IS WHOS GOING TO PICK UP THE TRASH. THIS COMES AS THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE ADMINISTRATION ARE FIGHTING RIGHT NOW ON WHO DESERVES THAT CONTRACT FOR DOWNTOWN AS WELL AS THE QUARTER. ITS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE FOLLOWING VERY CLOSELY, REPORTING HERE IN THE FRENCH QUARTER. IM CASSIE S