Baton Rouge debris cleanup ahead of schedule, even if some residents cannot tell

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POSTED: Monday, September 24, 2012 - 10:01pm

UPDATED: Tuesday, September 25, 2012 - 11:32am

Four weeks have passed since Hurricane Isaac, but its impact is still visible in yards around town. Now people are wondering when all those fallen branches and other debris will be taken away.

"I have enough yard trash so that it's the entire front of my yard is waiting to be picked up," said Ron Shubkin, who lives in the White Oak Landing subdivision.

Around his neighborhood, most homes still have broken limbs, or even entire fallen trees, sitting by the street.

Slowly but surely, contractors are making their way around Baton Rouge, hauling it all away, but the evidence is not always clear.

"I started wondering today whether they missed us on it, because it's been quite a while since Isaac came through," Shubkin said.

The Baton Rouge Department of Public Works says is it picking up approximately 12,000 cubic yards of debris each day. That is enough to cover a football field nearly six feet high. In total, contractors have picked up nearly 150,000 cubic yards, which would cover a football field with 70 feet of trash.

Shubkin said he was starting to get nervous that his neighborhood had been overlook, so he called the city to get answers.

"And I've got to tell you," Shubkin said, "they were very helpful. The lady looked it up and she told me that the trucks would be in our subdivision (Monday) and (Tuesday)."

Bob Hearn with DPW believes the pickup process is 60-70% done. He admits, though, that figure is a rough estimate. He thinks the total volume of debris will surpass his original prediction of 200,000 cubic yards, but that crews will complete the task ahead of their 45 day goal.

Shubkin says his concern now is how long it will take to get his lawn back in good condition.

"It'll probably take quite a while," he said. "Maybe next spring, next summer some time."

To find out when debris removal crews will visit your neighborhood, call the city's information line at 3-1-1. You can also find an interactive map, updated daily, at http://brgov.com/emergency/

Comments News Comments

interactive map requires password signup and personal information -should not refer to this since not user friendly. The PDF map is not really correct. Indicating first pass 70817 on 9/7/12. No one has picked up debris there/here. Person interviewed stated pickup here on Mon/Tues. I've yet to see any pick up.I wuill call the 311 #.

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