Technology in the schools
August 8, 2016
Elizabeth White
August 9, 2016
Complaints from residents of a small Houma subdivision that location of a staging area for a major construction project was causing damage to residential structures were expressed nearly two years ago to the contractor doing the work, documents examined by The Times reveal.
But then and also now the Conti Group, an international construction giant that won the contract from Terrebonne Parish to widen Hollywood Road, evinced little interest in addressing those concerns. A plea from the project engineer hired by Terrebonne Parish officials to serve as a liaison, that the staging area be moved to an area less likely to interfere with the lives of residents, was ignored as well, a partner in that firm has confirmed.
The deaf ear turned by Conti
residents of Imperial Drive, whose complaints include cracked driveways, a fallen chandelier and late-night noise and vibrations, is seen by them as unconscionable. Making matters worse, the residents say contact they did have with a site manager, to whom they later brought the same concerns, responded with words that amounted to “so sue me,” an occurrence confirmed by the project engineer, which he said resulted in the supervisor being removed from the project, or at least from contact with the public.
Communications began on Feb. 19 of 2015, when attorney Larry Boudreaux — himself an Imperial Drive resident — wrote to Conti’s Gretna location in a faxed letter.
“The clients live in close proximity to an access road that has been used by your company since the commencement of the project using extremely heavy equipment which has been driven at excessive speeds on an around the clock basis,” the Boudreaux letter states. “This traffic has caused tremors/vibrations that have resulted in damages to the residences of the clients.”
The letter accompanied a 34-page engineer’s report detailing damage and strongly suggesting that it was caused by equipment at the site. The problem, residents have repeatedly pointed out to anyone who will listen, is not that a major construction project is happening near their homes. It is, as stated, the location of the staging area, compressed onto a strip that is part of a much larger site, making possible the moving of the staging area to a place where the residents are less likely to be affected.
Two adjusters came from Liberty Mutual, Boudreaux said, and took the position that the problem is not the staging area but faulty construction. He finds this difficult to accept since the problem had not been evident before.
“The staging area could have been located further north,” is what Boudreaux says would have been an acceptable solution.
Parish President Gordon Dove has vowed to look into the problem, but is not likely to get much of a response.
Robert Williams of Providence/GSE Associates, which works directly for the parish, said he has specifically asked that a new staging area be considered.
“We made requests to Conti to shift, and we did get some action, they did slow down some of the vehicles,” said Williams. “The issue is we have very limited ability in what we can tell them they can and can’t do on that property. All we have control of is the right of way. We said the property owners would like you to shift some of your lay-down area, your access road. We get an email back that said this will cost money, who will pay for it? We feel the residents’ pain and we are making requests.”
Larry Boudreaux’s wife, Mary, said last week after reading of the plight communicated by neighbors Doug and Susan Rhodes that she is at wit’s end with the project, and that whatever mitigation has been employed has simply not been enough.
“After living here since 2004, we now find light bulbs loose, severe cracks in our driveway, our boat pad slab pulling away from the garage, our back steps developing stress cracking, doors that do not close correctly, several tiles on the kitchen floor developing cracks, the perpetual barking of our scared and concerned watch dog, landscaping and cars constantly covered with dust, and several cracks in our house and sidewalk brick mortar,” Mary Boudreaux said last week, amplifying the complaints of her neighbors Doug and Susan Rhodes, who have experienced similar problems.
She and other residents complain that they never had a say in the choice of staging area for the Hollywood Road project. Its placement within a short walk from their properties has turned a once-tranquil neighborhood into what they describe as a living hell.
“None of the above complaints are normal settling and had not happened in the twelve years we have lived here. Suddenly our investment in Imperial Drive’s “good earth” has become plagued with tremors, crashes, awful shocking noises, horns, incredible bright lights shining into our homes each night, and more than that, the loss of sleep in our once peaceful neighborhood.”
On Thursday night equipment was visible being moved after midnight. Sounds and vibrations from the lay-down site, or staging area, could be easily heard and felt.
Doug Rhodes, kneeling next to the chandelier that fell from his ceiling, said he doesn’t know how to proceed because he doesn’t want to be one of those people who “just sues” when a problem occurs. What he and other residents want to see is the courtesy of having the staging area moved anywhere that isn’t directly behind his property.
One of the property owners who made a contract for land use with Conti said he thought the situation was under control. What he didn’t realize was that neighbors are saying huge concrete culvert piping removed from beneath Hollywood Road is being broken down at the site by huge machines.
“They have a whole 37 acres,” said Billy Stark, one of the contract holders, who maintains that he had no idea of the level of sorrow the project has brought people he regards as neighbors, and realizes now that his preference might have been a staging area elsewhere on his property, where it would not have been so much of a bother. He plans to contact the Parish Councilman within whose district the land lies, Darren Guidry, and have a discussion with him. “I may be too late. If the damage is done, then that’s why we have insurance. But if I ever thought they would have done anything of this magnitude … this is the last thing I would have ever done.”
Numerous attempts to obtain a response from the Conti Group for this article were unsuccessful. Calls to the Gretna office and a conversation with the site manager resulted in a reporter being told that someone authorized to speak with the news media would have to call back.
But nobody did.
The residents maintain that they don’t want a fight, and that they just want their property returned to the state it was.
The Conti firm, which engages in massive projects including some on the African continent, and whose principals were major contributors to the presidential campaign of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, has not returned calls.
Attempts to directly contact Kurt Conti, the company’s CEO, have been unsuccessful. An e-mail to his executive assistant seeking contact with the company’s chief went unanswered.
Residents of Imperial Drive, meanwhile, await some form of answer, and say that no matter how much they wish not to, a lawsuit may end up being the only way for them to proceed.
In addition to putting up with sleepless nights, Imperial Drive resident Doug Rhodes said this chandelier came crashing down from his ceiling, blaming vibrations from construction equipment too close to his house.
