The following has been released to Q93 from the City of Alexandria: 

 

 

Alexandria, La. (September 8, 2020) — With the first phase of restoration efforts from Hurricane Laura complete, the city is moving forward with utility reconnects and ongoing cleanup efforts from the massive storm.

 

Less than a week after Hurricane Laura moved through Alexandria with winds reaching more than 80 mph, power was restored to all customers who could take power. But there are many homes and businesses that sustained serious damage to the electric meter or the building’s electrical system that prevented crews from being able to restore power.

 

“That is our primary focus right now, restoring power to homes and businesses where there was damage to the meter box that required repairs by a licensed electrician,” said Utility Director Michael Marcotte. “We have crews ready to make those reconnects as soon as the inspector approves the repair work.”

 

In addition to making those remaining electrical connections, utility crews are starting work on repairing damage to basic infrastructure, including street lights that were damaged in the storm. Crews will also be cleaning up utility debris, such as broken poles and retrieving equipment that wasn’t collected when initial repairs were made. “In the first phase of recovery, our focus was on restoring electrical service to customers as quickly as possible,” Marcotte said. “In some cases, that meant leaving poles or equipment behind so the crews could focus on making repairs to restore power. Now that service is restored, we are going back and collecting that debris.”

 

Marcotte asked residents to use AlexConnects to request street light repair and to report utility debris. For street lights, users should login and select the option for Street/Trail/Parking Lot Lights. For utility debris, users should select Utilities, then Electric, then Old Material on Site. Residents may also call the utility department at 318-473-1301.

 

Regarding tree and other storm debris, Urban Forester Darren Green said contract crews are making their first pass through the city to collect tree waste. “We have 20 trucks currently working in the city,” Green said. “So far they have covered about an eighth of the city and collected about 20,000 cubic yards of tree waste, which is roughly 10 percent of the 200,000 cubic yards we expect to collect citywide.” Residents are reminded that tree waste must be kept separate from household trash and other storm debris, such as shingles, fence panels and other construction debris. The contract crews will only collect tree debris. If other waste is mixed in the pile, it will not be collected. Crews are scheduled to make two more passes through the city, so residents have time to properly sort and place tree waste for collection.

 

Construction waste and non-tree debris will be collected by City of Alexandria crews starting next week. Regular household waste is collected on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays while other debris is collected on Wednesdays. Due to the Labor Day holiday Monday, crews will be collecting Tuesday’s household trash this Wednesday.

 

A limited number of tarps are available for residents with roof damage. To obtain a tarp, please contact SafeAlex at 318-589-8335.