The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday approved a six-month extension to a spending deadline for $1.7 billion in grants for New Orleans road construction, ensuring that work on dozens of city blocks can continue at least through midyear.
The extension on the roads grant came on the last day of the current spending period, which had already been extended at least three times.
The extension is a huge relief for Mayor-elect Helena Moreno and residents living on torn-up streets, as it was necessary to access roughly $500 million in grant funds that haven’t been spent. Without the extension, the cash-strapped city would have needed to pay for the work out-of-pocket or let projects idle…