Pathfinder
Editor, Senior Moderator
Mysterious cracks hamper completion of new ramps linking Causeway and I-10
Published: Friday, November 19, 2010, 5:35 PM Updated: Friday, November 19, 2010, 5:35 PM
Mark Waller, The Times-Picayune
State officials said Friday that finding the cause of support column cracking in the reworked interchange of Causeway Boulevard and Interstate 10 is proving to be a vexing task.
"Realistically, we really don't know what's going on with the concrete," said Bambi Hall, spokeswoman for the Department of Transportation and Development, in a news conference.
Hall and other transportation officials said the cracking is extremely rare.
"We're in uncharted territory," she said.
Cracks in a support column and cap prompted the department last week to close a new ramp connecting northbound Causeway to westbound I-10 as a safety precaution.
"We will not hesitate to close any ramp, any bridge, any road that has a potential safety issue," said Michael Stack, district administrator for the Transportation Department.
Crews removed a similarly cracked column and cap on Nov. 5 in a location where a ramp from southbound Causeway to eastbound I-10 has yet to be built atop the columns.
[...]
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/11/cracks_in_causeway_ramp_presen.html
Published: Friday, November 19, 2010, 5:35 PM Updated: Friday, November 19, 2010, 5:35 PM
Mark Waller, The Times-Picayune
State officials said Friday that finding the cause of support column cracking in the reworked interchange of Causeway Boulevard and Interstate 10 is proving to be a vexing task.
"Realistically, we really don't know what's going on with the concrete," said Bambi Hall, spokeswoman for the Department of Transportation and Development, in a news conference.
Hall and other transportation officials said the cracking is extremely rare.
"We're in uncharted territory," she said.
Cracks in a support column and cap prompted the department last week to close a new ramp connecting northbound Causeway to westbound I-10 as a safety precaution.
"We will not hesitate to close any ramp, any bridge, any road that has a potential safety issue," said Michael Stack, district administrator for the Transportation Department.
Crews removed a similarly cracked column and cap on Nov. 5 in a location where a ramp from southbound Causeway to eastbound I-10 has yet to be built atop the columns.
[...]
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/11/cracks_in_causeway_ramp_presen.html