The evacuation zone in New Orleans has been reduced following Sunday’s demolition of two cranes at the site of the collapsed Hard Rock hotel, and some roads are beginning to reopen.
According to the latest update from the Mayor’s office, the evacuation zone was reduced following Sunday’s demolition of the two cranes, which had been deemed a hazard to the surrounding area. Shortly thereafter, the riverbound Canal Street was reopened from Claiborne to Elk. (Traffic must turn right on Elk.) Other traffic restrictions, however, remain in place in the area.
Crane demo traffic update: Riverbound Canal St. re-opened from Claiborne to Elk. Traffic must turn right on Elk. Other traffic restrictions remain in place surrounding the #HardRockCollapse. Please be patient on morning commute & use alternative routes. https://t.co/AyuRn37IF4 pic.twitter.com/0jzQ0jvYmO
— NOLA Ready #HardRockCollapse (@nolaready) October 21, 2019
Hard Rock reports that it received a request Friday afternoon for financial support for the safe removal of the two cranes. The company said that it immediately authorized the funds from an escrow account to allow the Kailas Companies, the developer behind the project, to fulfill its obligations.
The Hard Rock Hotel New Orleans collapsed Saturday, October 12, while under construction, killing at least two people and hospitalizing 30 others. The new hotel, which at one point had been scheduled to open this spring, was to be housed in a new, 18-story building blocks from the city’s Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, which is the sixth largest in the country. Plans called for the hotel to have 350 rooms, along with four meeting spaces and two ballrooms, for a total of approximately 12,000 square feet of event space.
There is still no word on what caused the collapse, but previously New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell had promised a “relentless” investigation into the incident.
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