NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The Claiborne Expressway has cut through the heart of the Tremé neighborhood since the 1960s, when the new interstates were being built. Yet Amy Stelly, the founder of Claiborne Avenue Alliance Design Studio, says it's driven so many away.    Now, a new Enviornment al Protection Agency grant is helping researchers dig into just how damaging the expressway has been, studying everything from traffic and air quality to public health and economics. "Do a deep dive into the data, the traffic, the economics, public health and inform the community. So that we can make an informed decision about how to shape Claiborne going forward," said Stelly. NOFD responds to Tremé 2-alarm house fire Urban Planner Joe Minicozzi says highways built through neighborhoods come at a cost, estimating a $4.7 million dollar loss in annual tax revenue, adding that the noise can be insufferable. "When the highway came in that basically like, who wants to be next to this thing? So there's about, I want to say about 1,100 vacant lots in the Tremé and Seventh Ward neighborhoods, and that used to have buildings on them, so that's gone," said Minicozzi. Along with noise impacts, the EPA study looked at health impacts of pollution under the Claiborne Expressway. Dr. Adrienne Katner says her team plans to recruit homeowners to collect environmental data samples, and analyzing soil, land and water in the area. Police report second Bourbon Street bomb scare in two weeks She explains bridges built within in neighborhoods contribute to traffic pollution, which can have serious health consequences. "It causes cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, has been associated with lung cancer and other things like diabetes, and also reproductive effects. So, I think that getting that message out there is why we're doing this study," said Katner. Stelly says the goal is the study is to get both city leaders and the community to talk about ways to resolve these issues and build a partnership. "By putting programs in place that help state gentrification? Because the people who live here and who have been here want to stay in their homes, and people who were raised here want to come back," said Stelly. Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter. Latest Posts How to check if a car is stolen (for free) Survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor dies at 106 Fatal small plane crash in upstate New York under investigation How to spot a flood damaged car Search continues for Las Vegas veterinarian who apologized for kicking horse ...read more read less