NEW ORLEANS– The Michoud exit off Interstate 10 in New Orleans East is littered with a heap of asphalt, furniture, hair products, construction waste, and hundreds of tires.
According to Scott Boyle, who works for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, “These are eyesores and contribute to a poorer quality of life.”
While the location is cleaner than it was in the past, it continues to be one of the many issue sites that are located around the city.
According to Boyle, “It is beginning to encroach into the inner city areas around Claiborne and St. Bernard Avenue’s central business district.”
Boyle is aware of the difficulty involved in maintaining the site’s cleanliness. The cleanup operations, according to him, have received millions of dollars from the taxpayers over the course of the years.
As stated by Boyle, “We have removed over 60,000 tires from this interchange in addition to those that were located at I-510 and Lake Forest.” “These efforts do not come at no cost. The personnel that are performing this work along the highway right of ways are responsible for repairing potholes, cutting grass, cleaning ditches, and performing other types of maintenance. This is a depletion of other resources that are available.
According to Boyle, cameras in the region gather evidence of any illegal dumping. During the investigation, the Department of Transportation is collaborating with the Louisiana State Police, the New Orleans Police Department, and other authorities.
Multiple press releases were distributed by the New Orleans Police Department this week, revealing vehicles and individuals of interest who are suspected of illegally dumping near the Michoud exit.
“If you break the law, there will be consequences for it,” Boyle stated. “This will not be tolerated, and there will be consequences for you.”
Captain Kevin Stamp Sr. of the New Orleans Police Department resides and works in the New Orleans East neighborhood.
Stamp expressed his sentiments by saying, “They wouldn’t want to see these items dumped on their front lawn, so I’m taking it as personally as they would expect me to.”
One arrest was made by the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) when they received a report that a man had dumped trash from his Slidell shop near Michoud. In the vicinity of the location, a camera captures a trailer that is loaded down and then empty as it departs. The New Orleans Police Department has confirmed that many other individuals are considered to be persons of interest.
Stamp stated that there are thirteen investigations that are now underway, and “so far, we have made arrests and we have arrest warrants.” “We want to make sure that people outside of the parish and citizens are aware that we are very intent on making these apprehensions, and that we will not accept illegal dumping in any way, shape, or form,” the statement reads.
Stamp mentioned that a recent trend enables the department to concentrate on the matter at hand.
According to Stamp, “We are fortunate to be experiencing a decrease in the number of violent crimes, and this is providing us with a great deal of opportunity to concentrate on these nuisance issues that we have not been able to concentrate on in the past.”
According to the New Orleans Police Department, some of the people who break the law come from outside the city. They believe that one of the suspects is from Harvey, and that others have connections to Slidell.
On Facebook, the Slidell Police Department issued a warning to residents, advising them not to dispose of their trash in New Orleans.
