(Corner of Chartres and Conti streets. Photo: Infrogmation | CC Wikimedia)
The intersection of Conti and Chartres streets will be closed intermittently to vehicular traffic for one day starting Friday morning so that crews can dig a trench to inspect utility lines in anticipation of a two-block road construction project, a New Orleans spokeswoman said on Thursday.
Closure begins at 8 a.m. and is expected to last until Saturday, May 23, as workers from Hard Rock Construction — a Public Works contractor — construct a trench in order to verify the location, depth and size of electric and gas lines under the roadway, spokeswoman LaTonya Norton said.
Construction is expected to last until Saturday, at which point the intersection will reopen to traffic.
“Public safety is our priority,” Norton said. “Commuters are asked to be mindful to workers and to travel at reduced speeds in this area.”
Norton said drivers, pedestrians and residents should expect intermittent road and sidewalk closures, constriction equipment, limited parking availability, cones and fencing, elevated noise levels, dust and continuous vibration monitoring.
Additionally, there will be temporary asphalt pavement over the completed trench.
The brief closure is part of a city project to design a full reconstruction of Conti Street between Bourbon and Chartres streets.
Entergy will upgrade its gas and electric utilities in advance of the city’s massive project in order to avoid construction conflicts and potential delays, Norton said.
Entergy’s work is anticipated to begin in the 700 block of Conti Street in June and the entire project is expected to take approximately 10 months, Norton added.
The project is part of an “unprecedented” and mostly FEMA-funded $2.3 billion program by New Orleans Public Works and Sewerage and Water Board to improve damaged infrastructure.