Had an appointment in New Orleans this afternoon, and so I got to see more of the Raising of the Levees--Hayne Blvd. section.

I guess progress is being made--it is quite a job. I haven't figured out if the train tracks on top of the levee are going to be raised also. They're part of a major southern east/west route. The tracks on the levee emerge into Lake Pontchartrain, where they cross a trestle that has to be at least ten miles long, then emerge into the south side of Slidell, and thence on to further east. If I remember right, they continue on to Atlanta.

But, the drive was essentially uneventful.

I'm still trying to figure out if they are adding lanes to I-10 (I don't think so) or elevating the highway somewhat. That would make sense, since the highway (Interstate 10) was under water after Katrina. Trucks (and other heavy traffic) were supposed to go north a bit to I-12 and through Baton Rouge, but Weights and Measures made a LOT of money from trucks trying to sneak across the 1928 Hwy 11 bridge, which is only two lanes (one each way), but not built for massive east/west truck traffic.

However, the bridge survived, thank goodness. And the new three-lanes-each-way bridges replacing the former I-10 Twin Spans (which got battered during Katrina) are substantially higher.

So, it was basically an IUD, but I may have figured out just what they are doing with the I-10/US 11 interchange. (Not that that matters in the least to most of you, but if I'm right about I-10 being elevated a bit, it answers the "are they EVER going to finish" question. Maybe in my lifetime?)

And the ongoing construction calls for increased alertness on the part of drivers, most of whom are "regulars" on that route.