COVID spike brings delays for Plaquemine public works

Projects in the City of Plaquemine have been delayed due to COVID, while two big events have been scrapped due to the ongoing spike in positive case totals.

A midnight cruise scheduled for Aug. 21 has been halted, along with the “Boogie on the Bayou” in the downtown area.

“Everything is dropping like flies,” Plaquemine Mayor Edwin M. “Ed” Reeves Jr. said. “But the beautiful thing is that we can reschedule.”

Meanwhile, Comeaux Brothers Construction was sidelined 10 days on the levee trail project after work crew members contracted COVID-19.

The levee project is not the only endeavor on delay.

Public works projects throughout the city have taken longer due to shorter crews after the coronavirus sidelined several workers.

The city faces the same dilemma that many public and private entities have endured during the pandemic, Reeves said.

“We’re spread thin,” he said. “We thought about going on split shifts on public works projects, but we’re already on split shifts,

“We’re managing, but it’s been an adjustment,” Reeves said.