NEW ORLEANS — Heavy machinery chewed away Thursday at two historic Canal Street buildings in the shadow of the Hard Rock Hotel.
It was some of the most visible work to date that will clear a path toward demolition of the hotel.
Engineers working for 1031 Canal Development, the Hard Rock’s owner, have said demolition of three buildings next to the hotel is the only way to tear it down.
Giant cranes will be used to pick apart the Hard Rock. One of those cranes was on North Rampart Street Wednesday evening.
The Hard Rock demolition will happen in four phases after the buildings on Canal Street are torn down and the debris cleared.
The crane that hangs over Canal Street will go first.
During the second phase, crews should recover the bodies of two workers still trapped inside. That could take about two weeks.
Engineers have said the upper floors will come down between late July and early August.
The bottom eight floors should be gone by the end of September.
The entire site could be cleared by October, a year after the deadly collapse, engineers have said, if there are no major weather delays.
The project is still on schedule, a spokesman for 1031 Canal Development said Thursday.
Another goal is to get traffic and sidewalks reopened as soon as possible. That will happen in phases also, with most of that done by mid-August.
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