Toro
09-15-2005, 12:06 PM
This is a concept, a concept that might just be totally unfeasible after proper study. But speaking as a civil engineer, I think rebuilding New Orleans at the same elevation is a huge mistake. But for a myriad of socio/economic/historic/sentimental reasons we all know the City will be rebuilt.
And it's obviously not feasible to raise the elevation of the whole footprint of the city and start from scratch. So my idea is to fill only a part of the City, the section closest to Lake Ponchatrain. Pick a width, whether it be one city block wide or more and raze every structure in this area. None of them are probably salvageable anyway.
Have the city take all of the properties by Eminent Domain and compensate the property owners. Then bring in massive quantities of fill and raise the elevation of the entire area a suitable height above the lake. Then rebuild this section of the City at the higher elevation.
There would be no more dike. This new elevation would contain the lake and protect the rest of the City from a future catastropic event.
I was bouncing this off my wife today and she says I should tell someone. She wants me to send a letter to the ACOE but I told her that was rediculous so she said well post it on the internet. So here it is.
And it's obviously not feasible to raise the elevation of the whole footprint of the city and start from scratch. So my idea is to fill only a part of the City, the section closest to Lake Ponchatrain. Pick a width, whether it be one city block wide or more and raze every structure in this area. None of them are probably salvageable anyway.
Have the city take all of the properties by Eminent Domain and compensate the property owners. Then bring in massive quantities of fill and raise the elevation of the entire area a suitable height above the lake. Then rebuild this section of the City at the higher elevation.
There would be no more dike. This new elevation would contain the lake and protect the rest of the City from a future catastropic event.
I was bouncing this off my wife today and she says I should tell someone. She wants me to send a letter to the ACOE but I told her that was rediculous so she said well post it on the internet. So here it is.