Just pulled a 5'ver from New Orleans to Charlotte

[Skydiver]

Just back from helping a friend move his 11,000 lb fifth from New Orleans to Charlotte N. C. 786 miles one way.

We do live and learn. I'll never pull another trailer I'm not familier with or will I ever go back to New Orleans.

At least my truck did fine. Got 11. 0 to 12. 5 towing.

WHAT is going on in New Orleans besides nothing? Maybe I just did not drive by the areas where the work is being done. Place looks real bad.

On exit 24 off I-10 there were at least 125 new bumper hitch campers sitting in a lot empty. Then as I crossed the road there were about 75 make shift tents occupied. All of this was 1500 feet apart.

Charlotte was nice.

Tim

 

[CCutshaw]

N. O. will never be the same. Most of the people who left are not coming back. Was Canal Street open?

Calvin

 

[Eric_77]

Some areas are still real devasted no power and very little if any clean-up has occurred. Couple areas you must be escorted in can go into house for 30 minutes or so then escorted back out.



I have moved down here temporarily to help with roofing, measuring 10-12 roofs a day crews are installing 40-50 a week and that is just one of 3 of our offices. There is a lot of rebuilding happening but most in the hurricane damaged areas the flooded areas are so devasted that the insurance crews are sorting out repair/rebuild/demolish on a house by house basis. Then city has not come out with what the rebuild codes are going to be ie higher levees, raise houses, no rebuild etc. Kinda getting tired of the one TV station we get (4 the CBS affiliate) that keeps asking the question when is the federal gov't going to fix the leeves and rebuild houses/business for those that did not have insurance



Pay down here is real wacked $6000 hire bonus at Burger King because thay can't get people in to work; if you have a place to live there is good pay in the const biz but living expenses are also whacked rent 1800/month for a house that should rent for 750-900 normal house sales are out of sight as well houses that are in good shape (ie sellable) are 20+% over market value.



oh well wild stuff with trash as well the big grand promenade blvd are filled with trash 40+ high for blocks and blocks Pontchartrain Blvd looks like a working scrap yard heavy machinary pulverizing trash and loading it onto trucks to haul away.



Best part Bourbon street is up and running with little to no damage remaining. Crowds are mid-week size on the weekends, but most of crowd is const guys not many women but for the most part pretty civil only seen two fights in 3 trips down there. Mardi Gras should still be fun if you cna find a room.

 

[Eric_77]

N. O. will never be the same. Most of the people who left are not coming back. Was Canal Street open?

Calvin

Canal is kinda wierd no street cars (6 months at the earlist news said a week ago) up toward Bourbon lights and everything work but back towards Ponchartrain blvd no lights/power stop signs almost every block high water marks across most buildings. This is the area I called the dead zone real eery people working during the day then pitch black at night and nothing moving but MPs.



There is a determination by those here to rebuild and bring back the Big Easy better and cleaner than it was before.