While encouraging, The Road Home is still only closing an average of 123 homeowner requests per week through the life of the program dating from Oct. 1 when it started dispensing aid.

Contrast this success with that of Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu doling out $9.6 million in federal recovery grants to owners of more than 283 historic buildings, all but 32 of which were in New Orleans

The rest of $12.5 million appropriated by Congress will be awarded by the end of March, said Landrieu, who is seeking more federal money for owners of storm-damaged historic properties. It would take nearly $42 million to satisfy the 1,247 eligible applications the state has received, he said.

The grants Landrieu handed out, which range from $5,000 to $45,000, are not part of The Road Home assistance program for owners of severely damaged homes. Some homeowners, weary of waiting for relief, have said they wish it was.

Landrieu is to be commended for dispensing his pot of relief money so quickly, but to be fair, his program was funded at roughly the same time The Road Home program was last summer and his task was far more limited.

As of press time Thursday, The Road Home program had surpassed an arbitrary milestone set for the program. Projections called for a cumulative goal of 2,690 closings by the end of February, which included 300 closings in January and 2,300 in February. Actual closings totaled 450 by the end of January and 2,268 in February.

"The February results confirm the strong momentum we projected as homeowners enter the final stage in increasing numbers," said Gentry Brann, spokeswoman for ICF International. "More importantly, we have the confidence that this strong effort will continue to ensure that all homeowners receive their awards as quickly as possible."

Complaints about lagging returns have dogged the $7.5-billion Road Home program ever since CityBusiness first questioned ICF performance last September. The Road Home gives repair or buyout grants up to $150,000 to Louisiana homeowners who suffered damage from hurricanes Katrina or Rita.

Nearly 111,000 homeowners have applied for grants so far yet only 2.5 percent of them have closed on a deal with The Road Home. Even so, it appears as if The Road Home is finally getting untracked.

But Brann warns The Road Home will start using new grant calculator software this week, which will once again slow payouts. She promised speedier calculations after two weeks of testing in March.

If The Road Home is a journey of 1,000 miles for Louisianians, the program is just now reaching mile marker No. 2. The need for a greater sense of urgency in picking up the payout pace while retaining the program's accuracy involving land valuations is all-important. But there is good reason to believe The Road Home has turned a corner and will begin performing its duties in a way we all can appreciate.

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