| Mississippi Aerial River Transit |
Article Index for Mississippi |
Website Links For Mississippi |
Information AboutMississippi Aerial River Transit |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT MISSISSIPPI AERIAL RIVER TRANSIT | |
| vertical transportation devices | |
| transportation in new orleans | |
| history of new orleans | |
| public transportation in the united states | |
| aerial tramways in the united states | |
|
The Mississippi Aerial River Transit, or simply '''MART''' was a Gondola Lift transport system spanning the Mississippi River in New Orleans, Louisiana constructed for the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition . Its station on the East Bank was located at the foot of Julia Street adjacent to what became the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center . The station on the West Bank was located along Teche Street adjacent to where Mardi Gras World in Algiers is located. The system featured 53 separate cars, a 2,300 foot cross-river cable, twin steel towers that lifted the cable 200 feet into the air, two station houses, concrete pillars that anchored the cable and two 358-foot tall (109 meter) steel towers. Each of the two main towers were supported with 12 inch steel piles driven 285 feet into the ground. Each tower weighed 200 tons. HISTORY Plans for the gondola were initially approved by the city on May 6, 1982 . It was developed by the Mississippi Aerial River Transit-Perez Inc., or MART-Perez, which included noted local architect August Perez III . In 1983 , the Banque De L'Union Europeene of Paris provided financing for the project through an $8 million loan. During the fair, this was billed as the signature ride of the exhibition; however, it drew only 1.7 million riders, half as many as projected. Built to showcase a form of non-polluting commuter transit, after the fair the system was open for use by commuters traveling from Algiers in the West Bank to the Warehouse District across the river. By 1985 , the system would shut down due to low ridership. Later in 1985, the Banque De L'Union Europeene would file suite against MART-Perez when they defaulted on the $8 million loan. As a result on nonpayment, in 1986 , MART was ordered by a federal court to pay the bank $5 million, plus $1.2 million in interest and attorney fees. However, MART never made a payment, and as a result, the gondola was seized by the United States Marshals Service in June 1989. After the seizure, the system was put up for auction in August with New York City businessman Moey Segal placing the winning bid of $1.6 million. Segal intended to deconstruct the system and relocate it to Corpus Christi, Texas . It was intended to transport tourists from the primary hotel area to the Texas State Aquarium across the ship channel. Due to litigation, the proposal to move the system to Texas was dropped and Segal transferred its ownership to the 7349 Corp in 1990 . By late January 1993 , the United States Coast Guard demanded that the system be demolished if it were not being used. In November 1993, the New Orleans City Council approved the demolition of the system and its demolition was complete by February 1994 . COMPANIES INVOLVED IN ITS CONSTRUCTION
TRIVIA '']]
REFERENCES
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|