As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to change lives daily, the construction industry is continuing to adapt. Across the region, work continues, with strict attention to safety and sanitation protocols.
OSHA has cited multiple firms for violations leading up to the Oct. 12, 2019, collapse of the New Orleans Hard Rock Hotel. Meanwhile, discussions continues on how to best demolish what remains of the collapsed structure.
Pearl River flooding has renewed urgency for regional control efforts, including a controversial plan to build a dam in Jackson that would create a 1,500-acre lake, widen the river and make way for commercial development.
A lot still needs to happen before the state of Louisiana can replace the 70-year-old, dilapidated Calcasieu River Bridge on Interstate 10 in Lake Charles, and one official says it could take until at least 2024 for the project to break ground. But officials believe they are starting 2020 in a better position to move the project forward.
Developers expect to break ground in mid-2020 on a $100 million project to completely transform a 50-year-old suburban shopping center into an open-air retail concept that will blend shopping and dining with upscale apartments and office space. The redevelopment of the 35-acre site will be one of the largest retail projects in the New Orleans metro area.
