Responding to the challenges of climate change and urban flooding, the City of New Orleans takes a crucial step for the St. Bernard neighborhood with the groundbreaking of the St. Bernard Neighborhood Campus and Willie Hall Playground. Slated for Wednesday, November 12, the ceremony marks the beginning of an ambitious $32.4 million project aimed at enhancing the community’s resilience to flooding. This initiative will also serve to renovate a cherished local recreation spot, according to the City of New Orleans.
The launch event is set from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Willie Hall Playground, which is situated at the McDonogh 35 College Preparatory High School on Roneagle Way. Funding for this project stems from a substantial grant courtesy of the HUD National Disaster Resilience Program and a contribution from FEMA’s Joint Infrastructure Recovery Request Program, designed to build a comprehensive underground stormwater system with a massive capacity of five million gallons, according to the City of New Orleans.
Phase I of the project focuses on constructing a stormwater detention system designed to reduce recurring flooding in the St. Bernard neighborhood. Once completed, the system will be the largest of its kind in the southern United States and will be built beneath new athletic fields to improve drainage and protect the community from floodwaters…