We Shut Down the Bridge

Washington Times & UPI via NRO ^ | Sep. 9, 2005 | Shaun Waterman

[hipaatwo]

Think local officials are less to blame for deaths in New Orleans than federal officials? In the most jaw-dropping story of the week, UPI has the police chief of Gretna, Louisiana, admitting that he closed off one of the major arteries out of New Orleans on Monday, before the storm hit:

"We shut down the bridge," Arthur Lawson, chief of the City of Gretna Police Department, confirmed to United Press International, adding that his jurisdiction had been "a closed and secure location" since before the storm hit.

"All our people had evacuated and we locked the city down," he said. The bridge in question -- the Crescent City Connection -- is the major artery heading west out of New Orleans across the Mississippi River.

He added that the small town, which he called "a bedroom community" for the city of New Orleans, would have been overwhelmed by the influx. "There was no food, water or shelter" in Gretna City, Lawson said. "We did not have the wherewithal to deal with these people. If we had opened the bridge, our city would have looked like New Orleans does now: looted, burned and pillaged."

[hipaatwo]

Already pissed off? This will only make it worse.

Ping

[deport]

The Crescent City Connection

At some point when a storm is approaching all bridges such as the above get shut down due to increases in the storm's rath.... I know they had warned of bridges being closed when the winds begin to pick up to a certain speed. I'm not sure if this is what this closure was about.

[gridlock]

OK. Racism may have had something to do with it...

[dfwgator]

Michael Brown's fault. </sarcasm>

[dirtboy]

I thought I read on here the other day though that the people who wrote this account were a couple of lefty union leaders in town for some convention or something. Consider the source.

I will, but I also think this is consisent with the fact that no one left the Superdome on foot that we heard of.

[msnimje]

Every single sheriff and mayor of other cities in Louisiana knew what thugs ran the streets unimpeded in NO and they did not want that terror imported to their towns and cities.

[Mo1]

Think local officials are less to blame for deaths in New Orleans than federal officials? In the most jaw-dropping story of the week, UPI has the police chief of Gretna, Louisiana, admitting that he closed off one of the major arteries out of New Orleans on Monday, before the storm hit:

Good Lord

[mewzilla]

Unbefreakinglievable.

[wideawake]

I agree.

He knew there was killing, burning and raping going on in NO.

Gretna's a town of 17,000 people - so I doubt he had more than a couple dozen deputies to deal with a potential marauding crowd of 100,000.

He was sworn to protect the citizens of his town and he probably felt, like a normal person, that Police Chief Compass should be in charge of protecting citizens of New Orleans.

[mother22wife21]

Gobsmacked!!

[gulf1609]

There was no food or water? That is BS. I lived on the West Bank when I was little. There are hospitals, grocery stores, restaurants, hotels. All of these could have been commandeered by the Gretna police to help those accross the River. Bush is not racist. The Governor, Mayor and police were racist, or at the very least, uncaring about those poor people who were left to die accross the river.

[Petronski]

I can almost understand the bridge being closed when winds were above a certain speed, but was it reopened...that's the question.


Was it reopened to permit flight to higher ground as the levee was breached? If the answer is no, there ought to be hell to pay.

[wolfcreek]

Was that the only road out of NO that was not damaged by the storm? If so, that would explain alot.

[moasicwolf]

This is turning into the FUBAR of the century.

[johnny7]

Whoa... 'Copland'.

[wideawake]

Wrong. Gretna is about as racially integrated and diverse as any liberal's wet dream.

[Tarpon]

Hey folks, you may be on a wild goose chase caused by not knowing much about hurricanes.

In our area they close all bridges when the winds reach tropical storm force(40 mph) -- Period no exceptions. The danger of cars and trucks being blown off the bridges is too great to risk -- There is the real possibility that the bridge may be severely damaged in a wreck and disable an escape or a relief route after the hurricane passes. It's deemed unsafe to be in vehicles when the outer bands are nearing your location. Tornadoes and high wind gust are common in the time proceeding the hurricane.

Don't leap before you look -- need more facts.

[mewzilla]

We need to know when it was closed and when it was reopened.

[gulf1609]

Also, from what I have seen when looking at sights about the damage on the West Bank, there was no flooding. Some wind damage, but no flooding. Some even had electicity or gas soon after the storm blew over.

[mosquitobite]

But was the bridge reopened AFTER the levees broke? That is the question!