A construction worker surveys the bridge supports as the final truss is lowered onto the westbound side of the I-10 Twin Spans Bridge.
Posted on 01/03/2006 1:19:57 PM PST by CajunConservative
The two westbound lanes of the I-10 Twin Spans Bridge will reopen Friday morning, January 6, eight days ahead of schedule, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development announced Tuesday.
Spokesperson Cleo Joffrion Allen said a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday. Scheduled to appear are Governor Kathleen Blanco, acting Federal Highway Administrator J. Richard Capka, DOTD Secretary Johnny B. Bradberry and Boh Bros. President Robert S. Boh, the contractor for the work.
The westbound lanes will open officially at around 6 a.m. on Friday, Allen said; and the eastbound left lane will be closed during off-peak hours for the first three days thereafter to allow for re-striping of the bridge back to one-way configuration.
Allen said repairs began on a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week schedule two weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and storm surge knocked 435 segments—weighing 309 tons—out of alignment. Sixty-four segments were damaged so badly they had to be discarded.
The Twin Spans Bridge was reconstructed in three phases, totaling approximately $35 million. That’s up $4.1 million after a change order to have two westbound lanes instead of one in the repair contract.
According to the DOTD, an average of nearly 55,000 vehicles a day traveled the 5.4 miles across Lake Pontchartrain on the twin spans prior to the storm.
A construction worker surveys the bridge supports as the final truss is lowered onto the westbound side of the I-10 Twin Spans Bridge.
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They are returning. That's why I posted the article, so they can get back easier. :)
Wait!!!! Tell them to stop!!!! Nagin's waitin' for them!!!!!
I have a question, exactly how are you familiar with New Orleans.
"Now all they need are residents that want to return to a filthy, corrupt and impoverished city."
That does not describe the entire city. Prior to Katrina, the Irish Bayou was a decent area, and most of the western side of the city was also fairly OK, with some nice areas sandwiched in, and of course, Lakeview was a lovely (though, overpriced) area
But, I'll take your word for it that New Orleans is impoverished.
http://www.realtor.com/FindHome/HomeListing.asp?snum=17&locallnk=yes&frm=bymap&mnbed=0&mnbath=0&mnprice=2000000&mxprice=99999999&js=off&pgnum=2&fid=so&mnsqft=&mls=xmls&areaid=868&typ=1%2C+2%2C+4&poe=realtor&ct=New+Orleans&st=LA&sbint=&vtsort=&sid=05ECDAA8366EC&snumxlid=1052389740&lnksrc=00004
The ghettos and the seedy Bourbon Street images stick in my mind from my last visits there.
You gotta admit, its still polluted, very poor in many Parishes and the DIMs still control the turf.
You are from Ohio right? It's kinda like the pot calling the kettle black. There are a few problems in your fair state as far as corruption goes and I for dang sure wouldn't live in several of your cities because of the riots.
from that somewhat fuzzy photo, I'd say that is Bailey bridge being dropped into place. A British product used widely in WWII and very versitile, albeit narrow.
Things that make you go, "Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm."
My brother was headed back today after spending the last 4 months in Indiana. His house is going to need some work, but they were fortunate compared to many (he is up on a slightly higher elevation--less than 10 blocks from the Quarter). He has his old job waiting for him (the manager BEGGED him to be back last week, but he was committed at his job in Indianapolis until the end of last week), and he will probably be pulling in about a grand a week bartending.
Laissez les bon temps roulet! (forgive my French if is improper)
Riots? Oh, yeah Cincy and Toledo....Good idea, although Cincy has some great neighborhoods as well. However, those "riots" likely equated to a typical street fight on Bourbon Street. Highly overated and media sensationalized.
Yes, Ohio needs some work, but we did pull through the last election despite the moonbats amongst us.
We're trying to encourage moonbats to move to Canada, BTW.
Yes, Ohio needs some work, but we did pull through the last election despite the moonbats amongst us.
I keep reading headlines about your governor. They aren't good one's either and he's a pubbie.
Besides, what the hell does this have to do with the I-10 Twin Span bridge opening sooner than expected. In case you don't know, I-10 is a major thoroughfare connecting many port cities. The less miles truckers have to detour the less stuff costs down the road. That's just one good thing about the bridge reopening. The other is the recovery is progressing on the infrastructure quite nicely.
>>However, those "riots" likely equated to a typical street fight on Bourbon Street.<<
Bourbon Street and the whole French Quarter has NEVER been the problem with New Orleans. It's all of the surrounding areas that were once nice neighborhoods but have turned into crime-infested crap holes more dangerous than Fallujah is now; i.e., 500 murders per year in a city of 400,000 people. Amazing. I agree with you on one thing -- the city's decline can't be blamed on an influx of white Republicans. It may sound callous, but if ever there was a city in need of cleansing, it was New Orleans. The local liberal rag, the Times-Picayune, is in a twitter because the city may lose its black majority and end up like, GASP!, Charleston, SC. I've lived there, too, and New Orleans would be very fortunate to end up like Charleston.
Would you mind telling me what year New Orleans had 500 murders in one year? The murder rate is above the national average, no doubt about that, but I don't think it has ever hit the 500 mark and has certainly been getting better on average. Last year spiked up but prior to that it had been on a pretty good downtrend.
The bridge isn't there for the residents. It's there for the people who commute in from Slidell and Mississippi. It's the only "quick" way to get from northeast of the lake to anywhere south of the lake.
If you've any experience with it you'll know it's almost a parking lot during rush hours. And with Hwy 90 disabled due to the damage at Chef Pass it's the only eastern route out of New Orleans.
Irish Bayou was a "quaint" bayou community.
It's almost completely gone though. There are only less than a dozen camps that are salvagable. Though the newest and highest camp survived almost untouched (relatively).
As far as NOLA goes, I wish it no ill will, but I can tell you this much...the DIM voting block will return when the Government Cheese stores open. In other words, wherever the handouts are more attractive, thats where they'll roost. There are plenty of Check Cashing Stores outside of NOLA.
Do you really want them back? I know your mayor does.
I don't necessarily want them back but I would understand why they would want to come home. It has a lot more to do with being near family, roots, and things familiar. Surely you understand what that is like? Last time I looked people were still pretty much free to live wherever they wanted here in the US.
It was in the mid to late 1990's, if I remember correctly. I was in the active duty Air Force living in Omaha at the time, but a friend in Louisiana kept me posted on the body count.
1994 was the peak year for murders in New Orleans. 421 is what I found. That's a lot for sure and I won't quibble with using "500" as a round number for one year. However, as Rush says, "words mean things" and to imply that there are 500 "per year" is not accurate. The numbers have dropped greatly since that year. Still high, but nowhere near 500 per year.
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