As Hard Rock Hotel stabilization continues, here's what roads are closed, buses are rerouted

The threat of further collapse at the Hard Rock Hotel construction site at Canal and North Rampart streets will leave a number of streets closed around the busy intersection and significantly disrupt public transit service in New Orleans.

Streets remain closed for blocks in each direction from the site as city officials worry about heavy debris hanging precariously from the structure.

Some streetcar lines will remain closed into the coming week, and numerous bus lines have been rerouted to avoid the area around the partially collapsed building, which is a central hub for the city's transit system.

It's unclear how long road and streetcar closures will continue as emergency workers try to search, assess and stabilize the Hard Rock structure.

Two streetcar lines — the Canal Street and Rampart-St. Claude — meet at the Canal and North Rampart intersection, and 26 of the Regional Transit Authority's 32 bus lines normally stop there to provide transfers across the city.

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The RTA has rerouted 22 of those bus lines more than a mile farther up Canal Street, to the authority's headquarters at 2817 Canal, according to RTA CEO Alex Wiggins. The agency has set up an emergency transit center there for commuters making connections.

City officials said Sunday that there will likely be many delays when use of the public transit system ramps up Monday morning.

“It’s going to be a major change to how we operate,” Wiggins said of the bus line shifts.

Police also warned about heavy traffic as commuters try to make their way into the French Quarter and Central Business District on Monday morning. New Orleans police initially provided a list of closure, then updated them a few hours later.

Canal Street will remain closed at Dauphine, Burgundy, Rampart, Elk S. Liberty (riverbound.) Rampart will be closed at Bienville, Iberville, Common and Conti.

Elk is closed at Tulane and Cleveland (inbound). Basin is closed at St. Louis, Conti (inbound) and Iberville. Burgundy is closed at Iberville.

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Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said he’s worried about traffic backing up on Poydras Street, Claiborne Avenue and Esplanade Avenue in particular. He encouraged commuters to carpool or ride-share as much as possible.

Traffic delays also may lead to students not getting to school on time, Orleans Parish Schools Superintendent Henderson Lewis said, adding that he has notified schools that buses may not run on time.

Ferguson urged employers to be understanding of employees who might run late.

“We’re asking the employers to be patient with your employees. We’re asking everyone to take your time,” he said. “Leave a little bit earlier than what you normally would do because there will be a lot of traffic.”

Public transit riders rerouted to the RTA's headquarters will be able to wait in the lobby for connecting buses, and RTA representatives will be on hand to assist riders transferring between lines, Wiggins said.

For streetcars, service has been suspended entirely on the Riverfront and North Rampart-St. Claude lines, according to the RTA, with the Canal line closed from South Liberty Street to the Mississippi River.

Replacement buses will serve streetcar riders on the closed sections of the Canal and North Rampart-St. Claude lines, the RTA said. Those who normally ride the Riverfront streetcar line are recommended to take either the 55-Elysian Fields or the 5-Marigny-Bywater bus routes.

Workers removed overhead streetcar cables at North Rampart and Canal to allow heavy equipment to get near the collapsed building, Wiggins said, though he said putting the power cables back up won’t be difficult.