Hurricane Damaged New Canal Light Restoration Plans Change
By Sue Clark on Jul 14, 2007 in News, Threatened 
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After taking a direct hit from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, along with a November 2006 storm that virtually finished the damage, plans for stabilizing the New Canal lighthouse have gone by the wayside after the estimates on cost came in much higher than anticipated. Estimations of the cost to shore up the structure ranged from $100,000 USD to $150,000 USD, but bids came in at $197,000 and $209,000 instead. One estimate for the entire restoration project calls for a budget of $2.7 million. Workers would need about $500,000 of that just to reconstruct the lighthouse, according to the story.
New Basin Lighthouse Rescue, a part of the foundation which maintains the lighthouse, has asked the architects for the project to investigate the cost of disassembling the lighthouse, storing its parts, salvaging what can be reused and replicating what cannot, as an alternative to the original plans. If the money is raised, plans are to start the work in September. Currently, the group only has about $110,000.
The lighthouse rescue group has installed a private aid to navigation on top of the fog bell tower, for boaters to use in lieu of the lighthouse. Docents are available nearby to answer questions about it, as tours cannot be given on the site due to the damage.
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