Initial plans for the Loyola Avenue extension, which will run from Canal Street to the New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal at the intersection of Loyola and Howard Avenue, pegged the cost of the .8-mile line to fall somewhere between $27 million and $30 million. Yet the final cost will be closer to $34 million, said Lance Nowacki, project scheduler for the Archer Western, the Illinois-based contracting giant selected for the 12-month job.
Nowacki blames a large portion of the increased costs on a shipping canal that connected Lake Pontchartrain to the Mississippi River through what is now the CBD. Shoveled out by by Irish immigrants in the 1830s, the New Basin Canal was covered over in the late 1930s and early 1940s. A turning basin that occupied the area that is now Loyola Avenue between Julia Street and Howard Avenue was covered over in 1937, according to Tulane University geographer Richard Campanella.
Now the vestigial remains must be secured and spanned by a bridge strong enough to support streetcars, Nowacki said.
“You want to make sure that ground is solid and secure,” he said.
I think they're saying the ground where the canal was is less stable than the surrounding sediment. I'm not sure what they mean by a "bridge" though since we're just talking about filled-in dirt. Anyway, just thought it was neat either way.
Oh and also Lance Moore's Tweeter Tube says he's re-signed with the Saints for 5 years so... more of this to look forward to.
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