After months of uncertainty, New Orleans officials on Tuesday said they are hopeful federal officials will sign off on a funding extension that would allow the city to finish the massive, 6,000-block roadwork program that’s been tearing up and replacing city streets for the better part of a decade.
During a City Council committee meeting, Steve Nelson, the city’s public works director, told council members that Moreno administration officials had “really productive phone calls” with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials on Friday that indicate extensions of the $1.7 billion program, known as the Joint Infrastructure Recovery Request, or JIRR, program, will come through.
“This is a major win for the city of New Orleans,” said Nelson. “We are on the glide path to completion of the Hurricane Katrina recovery program.”
The hopeful sign comes as officials grew increasingly concerned about the funding extension with the current deadline fast approaching and with residents weary of constant delays of road projects…