Magazine Street Rehab Under Way
Plus Concrete, Inc., a subsidiary of RMD Holdings, Ltd., New Haven, Mich., began work March 10 on Phase Two of the $6.7-million rehabilitation of about 3.5 miles of Magazine Street in New Orleans. The project is part of the $118-million South Louisiana Submerged Roads Program (SRP), a comprehensive program to repair and resurface roughly 56 miles of roads in the Greater New Orleans area that were damaged as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. RMD Holdings has six contracts for projects in the SRP.
Plus Concrete received notice to proceed on the Magazine Street project in December, and completed the first, 0.68-mile phase in time for Carnival parades to roll down the historic corridor in early March. “The project was phased for constructability, to minimize disturbance to the dense concentration of residents and businesses,” says Michael Assaf, project manager for Plus Concrete. “We are trying to phase our construction in such a way to minimize closures and maximize access to businesses.”
In the first phase, the concentration of businesses wasn’t as great, but that construction gave the contractor and the public an indication of what to expect. “We are building sidewalks and ADA ramps, and doing as much as possible so we are not closing traveling lanes,” Assaf says. A website introduced by program manager HNTB Corp. Kansas City, Mo. “makes our life easier,” Assaf says. “It keeps the traveling public informed what is happening on a daily basis.”
HNTB is performing program management for the Louisiana Dept. of Transportation and Development, which is administering the program for the Federal Highway Administration. The SRP received funds from the Emergency Relief Program of the FHWA. The Magazine Street project is scheduled for completion in early November. For more information on the program, call 800-574-7193. For more information on the Magazine Street project, visit www.magazinestreetrepair.com.