A server at Toast, just outside the construction fencing on lower Decatur, told Fox 8 at the start of October that she hears one question every day. Customers want to know what is going on with the construction and how long it has lasted. The honest answer is that it lasted about a year. It is also ending the way it was built, one block at a time, with the downriver end finished first.
That order shapes how the street comes back. The 1100 block reopened first, and businesses there have already said how much a cleared sidewalk is worth to them. The 900 block, between St. Philip and Dumaine and along the edge of the French Market, is finishing last. It is now in the spot the 1100 block was in this summer.
Where each block stood as of October 6
The project is the Sewerage & Water Board's French Quarter Transmission Main, a FEMA-funded replacement of a roughly 115-year-old, 24-inch water main under the 900 through 1100 blocks of Decatur and the 600 block of St. Peter. It also covers new pavement and repairs to the historic sidewalks. Roubion is the contractor.
The utility's October 6 update shows sewer, drainage and water lines 100 percent complete on every block. The surface work above them is where the blocks differ:
- 600 St. Peter, Chartres to Royal. Pavement and sidewalks are 100 percent done. The street is open to cars, and only the striping is still to come.
- 1100 Decatur, Gov. Nicholls to Ursulines. Pavement and sidewalks are 100 percent done, and the block is open to foot traffic. Striping is still pending here too.
- 1000 Decatur, Ursulines to St. Philip. Pavement was at 96 percent and sidewalks at 85 percent. Crews were forming the last curb on the river side, with asphalt to follow up to just short of St. Philip.
- 900 Decatur, St. Philip to Dumaine. Pavement was at 15 percent and sidewalks at 0 percent. Crews were forming the lake side of the roadway for a concrete pour, and work was going on at N. Peters at the same time.
The update makes a point of saying it does not calculate an overall completion percentage. That fits, because the useful number for anyone on foot is block by block. On Decatur, the 1100 block is finished and the 1000 block was close. The 900 block, the stretch closest to the market, had barely started its surface work.
The last block took N. Peters with it
SWBNO scheduled a full closure of the 900 block at Dumaine to begin October 1, then pushed the start to Monday, October 5. It is expected to last about three weeks, weather permitting. During the closure, river-bound Decatur traffic is detoured onto Dumaine and then Chartres. N. Peters is closed to cars so crews can pour both sides of the roadway at once.
If the three-week window holds, it ends in the last week of October. WWL reported that SWBNO expects to finish the whole project by the end of the month. The track record argues for a little patience. According to Gambit, businesses were first told the work would end in February, then spring, then summer, then fall. SWBNO has cited the discovery of historical artifacts and stretches of record-low river levels as causes of the delays. The October 6 sheet also notes that the next 900-block pour depended on a storm in the Gulf.
On Thursday, the safest description is that the 900 block is in its final restoration stage. It is not yet a finished street.
What the 1100 block shows about reopening
The best evidence for what the last block stands to gain comes from the first block that reopened. In late July, Trey Monaghan of Molly's at the Market, in the 1100 block, gave Fox 8 the bar's numbers. Business had been down 12 to 25 percent, and down 50 percent on big event days. He said those figures had been cut in half since the fence came down. In the same story, a man who lives above a bar on Decatur said more people were coming down the street again after the fencing on his block was removed.
A few blocks upriver, Fox 8 found something different. Near Decatur and St. Philip, the fencing was still up, and vines had begun to grow over it and cover business signs. That is the stretch now in its final closure.
Some of that progress came through the courts. Nine businesses that sued SWBNO reached an agreement, reported by New Orleans CityBusiness. It requires fencing to come down where work is inactive and 72 hours' notice of new or extended closures, and SWBNO agreed to avoid water shutoffs to businesses in the construction zone. The city also set up a $200,000 stabilization fund for businesses on the affected blocks, administered through the Greater New Orleans Foundation. By July 27, it had awarded $97,500 to 26 businesses, a little under half the fund.
The businesses on the last stretch
Several lower Decatur businesses have stayed open through the whole project. In June, Fox 8 talked with people at Turtle Bay and Sidney's Wine Cellar. Its October story included Toast and French Market Restaurant. WWL's one-year report talked with Cane & Table, Turtle Bay and Pop City. Gambit also pointed readers to Coop's for dinner and Aunt Tiki's for a late nightcap. Kirk Estopinal of Cane & Table told WWL that sales on the block fell the day the fences went up.
Pop City sits on the 900 block itself. Its owner, Rhonda Findley, told WWL at the project's one-year mark:
"I'm not celebrating this one-year anniversary... but when those fences finally come down, that will be something to celebrate."
At least three lower Decatur businesses closed during the work. The curio shop Dead on Decatur closed in May. Café Sbisa at 1011 Decatur, one of the oldest restaurants in the city, served its last brunch on June 7. LUFU NOLA at 1117 Decatur has been temporarily closed while it looks for a new home. Its St. Charles Avenue location is still open. Those storefronts are on the 1000 and 1100 blocks, which now have finished sidewalks. Whoever moves in next will open onto a rebuilt street.
Where the reopened blocks lead
The 900 block matters to people who live in the Quarter because of where it goes. It runs along the French Market, and the market is rethinking what it offers residents. The French Market Corporation's Phase II strategic growth plan, dated June 2026, records residents' concerns that the market feels tourist-oriented, hard to get to and short on authentic goods. Its priorities include more locally relevant goods, cultural programming, better cleanliness and signage, and easier access. The plan also notes community interest in fresh produce at the market. A weekly farmers market in Crescent Park is no longer on the corporation's list, because it no longer manages the park.
Three dates on the French Market District calendar fall after the 900 block's closure window is due to end:
- November 6, 11 to 11:45 a.m. Johnette Downing's Family Music Series at the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park.
- November 21 and 22, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Farm to Table, with fresh produce for Thanksgiving.
- December 4, 11 to 11:45 a.m. Another session of Johnette Downing's Family Music Series at the park.
The Thanksgiving produce weekend is the one closest to what residents asked the market for in the plan. If the 900 block stays on schedule, it will also be the first big market weekend after the full length of lower Decatur is back.
For block-level questions before then, SWBNO Community Outreach can be reached at 504-585-2232 or [email protected].
If you own a home on or near lower Decatur and want to know how a rebuilt street and restored sidewalks out front could change how your property shows, The Martzolf Group can walk the block with you and give you a clear, design-minded read. Request Your Home Valuation.
