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Federal Judge dismisses suit to halt New Orleans lock

NEW ORLEANS --

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit seeking a court order to halt the construction of a replacement lock on the Industrial Canal in New Orleans.

U.S. District Judge Stanford R. Duval Jr. granted the summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Department of Transportation. The plaintiff was the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).

Pile testing for the construction of the $585-million project began in December 1999. The project includes a $35-million Community Impact Mitigation Plan.

Judge Duval rejected ACORN's contention that the Corps of Engineers' choice of the Industrial Canal as a replacement site, where the lock has operated since 1921, was biased against low-income, minority people.

"The court only has affidavits of residents in the community who attest to their unsubstantiated beliefs that the process was biased," the judge wrote.

The judge also ruled against a contention that the Corps is required, before project construction, to obtain a Coast Guard/Transportation Department permit based on the historic nature of the St. Claude Avenue bridge. The Corps may apply later for the permit to demolish and replace the bridge, the judge wrote.

The next lock-construction projects are scheduled to begin this summer: a levee on the canal's west bank, between the Mississippi River and St. Claude Avenue, and demolition of canal-side industrial facilities between North Claiborne and Florida avenues.

The lock project will not relocate any homes, drive pilings at night, or completely close the St. Claude and North Claiborne bridges for long periods. The Corps will open a $17 million, four-lane temporary bridge on St. Claude before demolishing the present, 79-year-old bridge. The North Claiborne bridge will be closed for two weeks to replace the center span with modules built off-site.

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