NEW ORLEANS — A road work project on Orleans Avenue a few blocks shy of Broad Street had traffic down to a single lane and caused problems for the massive Endymion floats making their way to their traditional starting point in Mid-City Friday.
The road work and equipment made it a tight squeeze but several of the superkrewe's floats made it through. However, the iconic Pontchartrain Beach float, one of Carnival's largest, could not make it past, stranding all of the floats behind it, all the way back to nearly the Municipal Auditorium.
Traffic was finally cleared up around 2 p.m., after approximately three hours of gridlock.
The traffic tie-up came as the huge weekend of Carnival parading got into high gear and made already slow traffic even slower, causing backups on Rampart and Claiborne and a complete halt in that direction on Orleans.
The blockade kept traffic from getting to several restaurants and businesses along the area.
Some residents in the area told WWL Louisiana reporter Eleanor Tabonne that they couldn't get in or out of their homes.