It isn't that hard to figure

Is this really a "classic Catch 22?"

It's a classic Catch-22: Tear it down and run the risk that a half-finished design, with only half its construction funding secured, never gets built. Leave it up and risk delaying a signature wish of Mayor Mitch Landrieu and public transit officials to revitalize New Orleans' central locus in time for its tricentennial.

Not to be lost in the debate are the commuters and tourists who rely on the ferry service to shuttle them back and forth to Algiers.

I'm don't see how this is so much a puzzle. It should be pretty easy to set some priorities here. Ideally we would first (1) Determine whether the plan serves the public's transit needs. Next, (2) make sure the funding is in place. And then, later, much later (700), worry about the mayor's stupid vanity timeline.

Of course, in reality, those aren't the only factors being considered.  Primarily, decisionmakers here are concerned with tourism and real estate concerns.  I doubt the other stuff figures in much if at all.