Demolition of cranes delayed a day
A plan to use explosives to topple two giant cranes leaning precariously over a partially collapsed hotel was delayed until today, city officials said after determining the cranes were more damaged than previously thought.
Officials said a demolition that had been planned Saturday will take place no earlier than 9 a.m. PDT today. Fire Chief Tim Mcconnell said the latest delay was caused by the new assessment of the cranes.
“As they got up and got closer they found out some things about it that have changed the way they are going to take it down ... and that’s going to take a little longer for them to accomplish,” he said at a news conference. “The cranes are more damaged than they thought.”
The Hard Rock Hotel under construction at the edge of the historic French Quarter partially collapsed Oct. 12, killing three workers. Two bodies remain in the unstable wreckage and Mayor Latoya Cantrell said recovering the remains would be a priority once the cranes are down.
The two cranes — one tower rising about 270 feet above the rubble and the other about 300 feet high — weigh tons and have loomed over the crumpled hotel since it collapsed. If the demolition plans suc- ceed, the towers will drop vertically, spar- ing neighboring landmark buildings such as the Saenger Theatre and the New Orleans Athletic Club, both built in the 1920s.
Officials said Saturday that they would give residents who needed to evacuate four hours’ notice ahead of the planned demolition.