Lessons from the Napoleon Avenue Drainage Project Verify the Need for Civil Engineering Consultants

As the Napoleon Avenue Drainage Project nears completion, residents express hope for better planned infrastructures in the future.

Part of the $2 billion Southeast Louisiana (SELA) Drainage Project, intended to decrease flooding and its harmful effects on New Orleans and nearby areas, the Napoleon project instead drew myriad lawsuits from locals who complained of property damage and ill health effects due to its construction. Hiring civil engineering consultants would have helped address these problems at the onset. Such consultants only need to point to the Napoleon project’s travesties to persuade agencies to seek their expertise for future drainage undertakings.

Consider Property Damages

Constructing a drainage system requires equipment that produces strong vibrations, enough to wreak damages to nearby buildings and residences. In Uptown and Carrollton districts, residents filed a class-action suit against the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans, SELA’s administrator, for extensive property damages.

They claimed that heavy-duty construction equipment, as well as, the process of building drainage canals, wrecked their houses by cracking foundations and sinking the floors because of uneven ground conditions wrought by construction. Even their doors and windows would not properly close.

Civil engineering consultants can identify and respond to these property risks beforehand. For instance, pile driving into the ground can create damaging vibrations. Consultants can conduct pre-construction surveys to determine piling and excavation effects. For example, one pre-construction survey focuses particularly on controlling construction vibrations so that responsiveness to the safety and serviceability of nearby houses and facilities is improved.

Respond to Health Hazards

Meanwhile, drainage construction can present some inescapable hazards to neighbors. In the case of the Napoleon Drainage Project, residents complained of loud construction noises, oftentimes shocking in their abruptness and ear-splitting in their constancy. Ear protection is only provided to construction workers, while residents are not offered the same protection. Noise, dust and traffic from construction generate everyday distress. Locals lamented sleep loss from the daily noise. Equipment blocked their parking spaces and yards, while smoke and dust from construction activities created a nuisance in their homes.

Civil engineering consultants can properly address these health hazards before construction starts. In terms of noise, they can select the best strategy for the site’s shape, population density and traffic flow. Combining acoustical architectural design, which integrates noise-reducing concepts and implementing acoustical construction, which uses new and traditional soundproofing concepts, can decrease noise. Sound-deterring walls and similar structures reduce dust and smoke as well. Proper site planning minimizes obstructions to private property as well.

If the government wishes to avoid future lawsuits and save taxpayers the grief, they should hire experienced civil engineering consultants who are devoted to the overall process of program management. Qualified to produce designs that mitigate potential damages and health risks to residents, they can establish resilient infrastructures without breaking the bank.

Sources:

“Evaluation of vibration limits and mitigation techniques for urban construction,” fdot.gov
“Frustrating, controversial Napoleon Avenue drainage project finally complete — more or less,” theadvocate.com