NEW ORLEANS — The riverbound lanes of Canal Street in the shadow of the Hard Rock Hotel were largely clear of any debris Wednesday.
That led David Rubenstein to wonder one thing: Why are they still not open?
“That's the problem. We're not hearing anything,” he said.
There has been substantial progress at the site of the collapse that killed three people and injured dozens more.
Three towers that loomed over the street are now gone, as are the rest of the upper 10 floors.
Debris that once hung off the side of the lower right floors is now gone as well, no longer dangling over the road.
Instead, it’s in tidy piles at the foot of the building.
While Rubenstein said he’s pleased with that progress, what's lacking from the Hard Rock's developers and the city is any communication about what’s next, especially after many business owners say they have received conflicting reports about what will happen when.
“That is the most frustrating (part),” he said. “Just tell us what you're doing.”
He added that he doesn't know why riverbound Canal Street has not reopened given its condition.
“I went down this morning. The street is broom-clean like it is here,” he said.
While 1031 Canal Development is responsible for taking care of and paying for the demolition, City Hall says they're hopeful some streets could reopen soon.
“There are several essential tasks directly related to the collapse that must be completed before traffic can reopen. While significant progress has been made, even more work is needed and scheduled for the rest of this week,” a City Hall spokesperson wrote. “Ideally, we could reopen riverbound Canal Street in the very near future. It's likely we could reopen South Rampart Street in both directions at that time.”
A spokesman for 1031 Canal did not provide an updated timeline Wednesday.
Ruebenstein said any street reopenings can't happen fast enough since customers consider Canal's closure a barrier to business.
“They have to have access to come down,” he said. “They can't be sending them out to Lakeside.”
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