Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry toured the Spring Park neighborhood Thursday morning to check on progress the city has made removing debris left by Hurricane Matthew.
Jacksonville’s first phase of cleanup is scheduled to be finished by Nov. 11.
Curry said he wants Jacksonville residents to know his administration is doing everything it can to get their neighborhoods back to normal.
“We’ve picked up more debris in just a few weeks than has previously been picked up over a period of six months. That doesn't happen on accident, that’s because your city, your officials planned on the front end,” he said.
The city estimates it’ll have to pick up and dispose of around 800,000 cubic feet of debris — or enough to fill around nine Olympic-size swimming pools — before Jacksonville is back to normal, though that number could climb higher when it’s all said and done.
Some residents have expressed frustration, and JEA was criticized for not restoring power quickly enough after Hurricane Matthew brushed the First Coast on Oct. 7.
Curry said that frustration is more than understandable.
“I’m not asking people to be patient. We’re not patient,” he said.
City officials aren't sure how much the cleanup effort will cost in total.
Reporter Ryan Benk can be reached at rbenk@wjct.org, 904-358-6319 or on Twitter @RyanMichaelBenk.
