You don’t need a city council report to know something’s wrong. The roads say it all. Torn up asphalt, fences around half-dug trenches, and crews that come and go without warning. Some blocks haven’t seen progress in months. Others get repaved, only to be torn up again.
New Orleans put $2.4 billion on the table to fix its infrastructure. Now the city is nearly $800 million short, and over 90 road projects are stalled. The public found that out in March, after the money had already started drying up.
The Tools Exist, But They Don’t Help
City officials point to Roadwork NOLA and the ARPA dashboards as proof that progress is being tracked. But residents trying to get a straight answer know better. The Roadwork map is hard to navigate and often outdated. The ARPA dashboard shows totals, but no street-level detail. The 311 system takes reports, but rarely provides follow-up.
The information that’s available isn’t enough to tell people what they actually want to know. Who’s responsible for the delay? How much are they being paid? When will the job be finished?
The Start-Stop Routine Is the Real Problem
In every neighborhood, the pattern repeats. Work begins. Crews leave. Nothing moves for weeks. Then another crew shows up, often for something unrelated. Sometimes a trench sits untouched through hurricane season. People adjust. They drive around it, warn their neighbors, and give up expecting answers.
Officials say it’s a coordination issue. But that excuse wears thin when it happens over and over. Different agencies, different crews, no one clearly in charge. And if something goes wrong, no one’s held accountable.
Big Contracts, No Follow-Through
The city has handed out large contracts to companies like Barriere, Cycle, Hard Rock, and Command. In 2024, it hired CDM Smith, a national firm, to manage the broader recovery program. Their contract has already grown past $12 million, and they’re now in charge through 2028.
Still, projects are stalled. Streets are incomplete. And the public is rarely told what’s causing the holdup. No city website lists contractor delays. No one gives updates on missed deadlines. It’s hard to tell who’s steering the ship—or if anyone is.
How to Fix It
The city doesn’t need another study or planning session. It needs to rebuild trust. That starts with information people can actually use. A website that shows exactly where money is going, who’s doing the work, and how far behind they are. Not PDFs and placeholder pages. Actual, working data.
Contractors shouldn’t be paid in full until the job is done right. If they walk off, they lose eligibility to bid again. Neighborhoods should be looped in through regular briefings and direct contacts. Let people see the progress—or the lack of it—for themselves.
And if the city wants to show it’s serious, make the delays public. Show which firms are behind. Show how many days a site has sat empty. Let residents track their own streets, not just wait for someone to answer the phone at Public Works.
The Damage Isn’t Just to the Roads
This isn’t just about driving over potholes. It’s about how people are treated. It’s about whether public money is being used for real progress or just more excuses. And it’s about a city that promises to rebuild while leaving its neighborhoods stuck in limbo.
The tools exist. The money was there. But if the city can’t explain where it went—or when the roads will finally be done—then all the dashboards in the world don’t matter.
