Civil Engineering Students Partner with Make It Right on Street Project

April 08, 2011

Civil engineering students Matt Zeringue and Anne Heath take concrete samples in the Lower 9th Ward while instructor Chuck Fromherz looks on

A group of UNO civil engineering students is seeing the fruits of their labor--and so can anyone else who visits a newly paved city block in the Lower 9th Ward. 23 final semester seniors have undertaken an ambitious senior design project in coordination with the Make It Right Foundation. It's a project that could have far-reaching implications in improving the city's drainage system.

The UNO students did all of the design work on a section of N. Prieur St. between Jourdan Rd. and Deslonde Ave. What makes this project so unusual is the materials that are being used. Instead of pouring conventional concrete, this special test run involves pervious concrete, which is porous and allows rain water to be stored in the street, as opposed to all of it entering the drainage sytem. Make It Right has frequently used pervious concerete in driveways and sidewalks in the Lower 9th Ward, but this represents one of the few times anywhere in the country that the material has been used on a city street.

The street will be tested in the coming weeks and months to determine its durability and strength. Officials with the City of New Orleans are watching very closely to see how this stretch of street holds up. According to engineer Chuck Fromherz, a UNO civil engineering adjunct faculty member, widespread use of pervious concrete in streets could reduce the city's drainage load by a third, which could greatly improve New Orleans' frequent problems with street flooding.

Civil Engineering Students Partner with Make It Right on Street Project

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