Update: Officials said all interstate highways in New Orleans reopened Friday afternoon.
Sun and warmer temperatures are helping crews in New Orleans as they continue to clear roads following this week’s winter storm.
“Having these clear skies has done a lot towards mitigating a lot of the snow. It's assisting us,” said Collin Arnold, director of the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (NOHSEP).
He estimated that major roads should be more passable by Thursday evening. In the meantime, residents should stay home to avoid dangerous conditions.
“Air on the side of caution with Thursday. We're just not in a position to say it’s safe for the public to start moving around,” Arnold said. “RTA can't start operating yet. They're not in a position where they feel the roads are safe enough for their drivers who obviously don't have training to drive in the ice and snow conditions.”
“I'm really hoping that tomorrow will be okay, and then by Friday we'll be back to what we can do normally,” he added.
Arnold said crews have plowed the Crescent City Connection, Pontchartrain Expressway, and other key routes, but have faced challenges with elevated roadways and bridges that keep re-freezing.
“The Crescent City Connection is going to have to be done over again. The Pontchartrain Expressway is going to be done over again,” Arnold said. “We calculated about 30 miles of elevated roadway and bridges in the parish. All of those are gonna have to be done probably multiple times.”
According to Arnold, the following roadways have been cleared:
- Claiborne Avenue to Napoleon Avenue to Broad Street
- Earhart Boulevard to the Parish Line
- Tulane Avenue and Airline Highway to the Parish Line
- Broad Street to Orleans Avenue
- Rampart Street and Claiborne, all the way to Poland Avenue
- Poland Avenue to the interstate
- Elysian Fields Avenue
- Franklin Avenue from the river to the lake
- Chef Menteur Highway from east of People's Avenue to the parish line
Crews will re-plow the Pontchartrain Expressway and Crescent City Connection, then clear major roads in Lakeview, West End, Gentilly, New Orleans East, and potentially the Lower Ninth Ward.
Plowing operations along Interstate 10 are expected to continue throughout Wednesday night. Arnold said crews have cleared access roads to Louis Armstrong International Airport and the areas where planes are parked, but lack the specialized equipment needed to plow runways.
He said Hard Rock Construction and other contractors are handling snow removal on Canal Street and in the Central Business District. Sidney Torres from Ivy Waste is working to clear the French Quarter. The Department of Public Works is working with small businesses and construction companies to begin clearing sidewalks downtown, Arnold added.
Arnold also addressed concerns about the impact the snow will have on road construction ahead of the Super Bowl.
“The thought is that we're very close on those projects and public works and our infrastructure team thinks that the delay will be minimal,” Arnold said.
Arnold said crews were being careful when removing snow to avoid damaging ongoing projects.
“The NFL has control of the Superdome right now and they've been setting up throughout this. I would imagine there probably has been delays in getting some of the trucks and different things they need in, but it has not been anything that at this point has become alarming or in any way is delaying anything about having the game on Feb. 9 and being ready for that,” he added.
On Wednesday, the city opened a warming center at the Saint Bernard Recreation Center, 1500 Lafreniere Street, after two other warming centers reached capacity.
Arnold said Saint Bernard should be able to accommodate an additional 100 to 120 people. It’s not expected to reach capacity, but if it does, the city will look at opening another center, he said.
Arnold said the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board has not noticed a significant uptick in water use. He said a group has volunteered to help the city put out a list of plumbers who can help residents with pipe issues. The list would be available on ready.nola.gov once it’s ready. If you have a burst pipe, you can call 311 or visit nola311.org to report the issue.
