Demolition expert to consult with leaders on crane support at Hard Rock site

NEW ORLEANS —One of the top demolition experts in the U.S. is coming to New Orleans to help explore what to do next with the partially collapsed Hard Rock Hotel.

Mark Loizeaux, of Controlled Demolition Incorporated, confirmed with WDSU that he has been asked to consult on shoring up the two cranes that have become detached from the remaining structure.

He is scheduled to arrive in New Orleans on Monday night.

Loizeaux’s company has been involved in many of the largest demolition projects in the country.

He consulted on demolition projects following the 9-11 attacks in New York and the 1995 terrorist attack on the Murrah building in Oklahoma City.

He is no stranger to New Orleans; his company demolished the former Grand Palace Hotel at Canal and Claiborne in 2012. That building came down to make way for the new medical campus of University Medical Center.