2024 National Road Meet - New Orleans, LA (February 17-18, 2024)

[roadwaywiz95]

Let's have a "National" Meet in 2024! And let's have it in southeast Louisiana, centered around the New Orleans metro area. New Orleans is a city full of highlights in the areas of roads, bridges, urban planning, and architecture, in addition to the numerous flood control structures and landmarks that help keep the city dry. Culturally, it's one of the most diverse cities in North America and its mix of Caribbean, African, and European influences have resulted in a jazz music and cuisine scene that is world-renowned and unlike anything found anywhere else on our continent.

The timing of this Meet is advantageous for multiple reasons. The placement of this Meet on the Presidents' Day weekend will potentially allow for an extra travel day/holiday for folks looking to make the trip. Of potential interest to some of you, Mardi Gras will fall on February 13, 2024, which is a few days before Meet Weekend. This will allow any of you who may be interested in experiencing the end of the "Carnival"  period in town to do so without extending your stay in the area beyond a week. Finally, this Meet will be taking place around the 25th anniversary of the 1st official/documented road meet, which was held in February 1999. As part of this particular event, I'd like for this to also double as a celebration of our shared history as a community as we commemorate the Meets of the past while looking ahead at what's to come.

Whether you pass through southeast Louisiana on a regular basis or you've never been here before, this region has an impressive amount to see & experience and it's certainly worth the trip out this way to hang out with your favorite fellow road enthusiasts & content creators and make a mini-vacation out of it all if you choose. As has been the case with past National Meets, you will have the choice of attending either both or one of the two days of tours/gatherings but no matter what you decide, I hope you enjoy your visit and have a memorable experience!
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Day 1 (2/17/24) Meet Itinerary:
10:00 AM - Coffee/"Meet & Greet" @ Cafe du Monde, 4700 Veterans Blvd, Metairie, LA 70002
10:45 AM - Relocate all vehicles to Target parking lot, a short distance east on Veterans across from Clearview Pkwy
11:00 AM - Commence Day 1 driving tour from the Target parking lot
Meet Lunch/"Half Time" @ East Seafood and/or Bullard Seafood & Grill, 7025 Bullard Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70128 (***This stop will be included in the driving tour notes/itinerary***)
Optional Post-Meet Dinner @ Middendorf's, 30160 Old US 51, Akers, LA 70421

Day 1 (2/17/24) Meet Highlights: City of New Orleans & the western suburbs (subject to change/elaboration/clarification)

Greater New Orleans Roads:
New Orleans Expressways: Pontchartrain, Claiborne, I-610
New Orleans U.S. Highways: National southern terminus of US 61 (and nearby historic termini of US 51, 65, and 11)
Earhart Expressway and Boulevard
Interstate 10/New Orleans International Airport Flyover project
Interstate 10/Loyola Ave Diverging Diamond Interchange project - Louisiana's 1st DDI!
Bridges of the Industrial Canal: St. Claude Av, Claiborne Av, Florida Av, Danziger, High Rise, Seabrook

Other Locations & Landmarks:
Hurricane Katrina landmarks and points of interest: Abandoned Jazzland site in New Orleans East, the Flooded House Museum & London Avenue Canal Exhibit
Abandoned roadways & frontage roads of New Orleans East (Dwyer Road, et. al.)
The Fats Domino House and the Lower 9th Ward
Site of Sea Saint Studios in Gentilly (where Paul McCartney's "Venus & Mars" album was recorded in 1975)
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Day 2 (2/18/24) Meet Itinerary:
10:00 AM - PRE-MEET EVENT: Crescent City Connection HOV Lanes Driving Tour (bring your own coffee!)
11:00 AM - Lunch @ Dickey's Barbeque Pit, 91 Westbank Expressway, Gretna, LA 70053
Optional Post-Meet Dinner @ Zydeco's, 7010 Belle Chasse Highway, Belle Chasse, LA 70037

Day 2 (2/18/24) Meet Highlights: Westbank suburbs & the downriver parishes (subject to change/elaboration/clarification)

- Bridges of the Mississippi River: Crescent City Connection, Huey P. Long
- Westbank Expressway and the Harvey Tunnel
- Belle Chasse Tunnel and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway Bridge project
- Woodland Bridge and Gen. DeGaulle Drive
- LAPALCO Boulevard and Harvey Canal Drawbridge
- Crescent City Connection HOV lanes
- Lafitte-Larose Highway fragment and the Bayou Barataria/Intracoastal Waterway Bridge
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DAY 1 Facebook Event Page:
https://fb.me/e/1iuM5fXTG

DAY 2 Facebook Event Page:
https://fb.me/e/17d2AtbBh


Road Meet Itineraries are available now at the links below:

Day 1 - February 17

Day 1 Full Version:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/4g15ymiilcc1cghi46lut/New-Orleans-Road-Meet-DAY-1.docx?rlkey=e243ag1qz8pnv003e9x10gyo3&dl=0

Day 1 Printer-Friendly Version:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/w4zn5tudy68nut07r7441/New-Orleans-Road-Meet-DAY-1-Printer-Friendly.docx?rlkey=ewajni4e7l9tjr7wqa3b9w5x5&dl=0

Day 2 - February 18

Pre-Meet Tour Full Version:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/k3jpolufig1pa3pb3zt2i/New-Orleans-Road-Meet-DAY-2-Pre-Meet.docx?rlkey=vf3ndoof1zolijtce65wths1r&dl=0

Pre-Meet Tour Printer-Friendly Version:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/u5teu3eay7lvw9qkvf5y3/New-Orleans-Road-Meet-DAY-2-Pre-Meet-Printer-Friendly.docx?rlkey=c1p2tie0ywu2f89qmchrvzu2u&dl=0

Day 2 Full Version:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ywrt7uamsw8ebf194p0ja/New-Orleans-Road-Meet-DAY-2.docx?rlkey=vos3af2mcy1xqz3lvs8hy7lk6&dl=0

Day 2 Printer-Friendly Version:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/s1vergqaxj2s56rz1f7h1/New-Orleans-Road-Meet-DAY-2-Printer-Friendly.docx?rlkey=cbqp2t5qyxks4j0aa8oq6ztj8&dl=0

[Alps]

 

[jasonh300]

 

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Works with a birthday party I'll be attending outside of Baton Rouge on the 13th.

[Great Lakes Roads]

I am very interested (partly because my dad's birthday is in February lol)...

[jpi]

I'm interested but down side is this falls on a weekend of one of my biggest diecast toy shows  of the year in Dayton Ohio, I will be "interested" for now

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

For Dan, or anyone else looking for tour themes in NOLA.
https://acloserwalknola.com/?fbclid=IwAR3LOxED23GuOg46VvZWyySyba6PV7ceyGv2RKqYPj6jLCS6FRaffyee3xI
(WWOZ collection of music sites to visit)

[cjk374]

I will definitely be interested in this! Despite the fact that I have lived in Louisiana all of my life, NOLA has only been a specific destination 4 times in almost 50 years. This should be loads of fun!

[roadwaywiz95]

Since we're about six months out from this, I'll refresh this feed and provide a small update.

The initial post at the top of this thread will, as usual, serve as a general outline of the weekend's planned events and will be modified as new information becomes available. You will notice that some of the weekend's tour highlights have already begun to appear there. Stay tuned for future additions and clarifications in the coming weeks.

Additionally, a Facebook event page has been created for this event. It's a basic one for now - I plan on there being an event page for each day of the meet (similar to what was done for Philadelphia in 2022) with the existing page being rebranded as the "Day 1" page when the time comes. I am aiming to make this change sometime in the fall but until then, here's the link to the event page as it stands:

https://fb.me/e/1iuM5fXTG

[jpi]

Looks like I am out, one of my biggest toy shows of the year falls on this weekend in Dayton Ohio and unless Dan is willing to pay me 2 to 3 grand, I will be doing the toy show that weekend.

[tckma]

Possibly interested.

[tckma]

I'm out.  Didn't realize it's in February.  That's during the FIRST Robotics build season, and I volunteer as a team mentor.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Definitely interested.

[roadwaywiz95]

A heads up for a special program being hosted down in southeast Louisiana this weekend with relevance to the meet in February. I'll be down there this weekend for a scouting run and will be working on a couple other things related to the weekend while in town. Hope those of you interested in this meet will be able to tune in!

Our next installment in the "Virtual Tour" series is scheduled to take place on Saturday (11/4) at 8 PM ET. Come join me and members of the AARoads community as we profile Interstate 10 across southern Louisiana and discuss the history and features of this highway all while enjoying a real-time video trip along the length of the interstate connecting the cities of Lafayette, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans with the rest of the central Gulf Coast.

This event will be hosted on location in the New Orleans metro area and the topic of the National Road Meet to be held there in February 2024 will certainly come up in conversation during the program. A link to the event location can be found below and we look forward to seeing you there!

[ccurley100]

I'm in. It's going to be a family trip with my wife and 15 year old. They have never been and I haven't been since the 1988 Sugar Bowl. We found a Comfort Inn on the north shore in Mandeville that was pretty reasonable so the it's been booked and we're looking forward to the meet!

[Brandon]

I think I'll do my damnedest to make this one.

I will suggest; however, that if you choose a restaurant in the Quarter, we may wish to look into carpooling to get there.

[Alps]

I'm in. It's going to be a family trip with my wife and 15 year old. They have never been and I haven't been since the 1988 Sugar Bowl. We found a Comfort Inn on the north shore in Mandeville that was pretty reasonable so the it's been booked and we're looking forward to the meet!

please message to the 15 year old to be as snarky as possible to everyone encountered at the meet. i know the wife is a lost cause for that

[SSOWorld]

I think I'll do my damnedest to make this one.

I will suggest; however, that if you choose a restaurant in the Quarter, we may wish to look into carpooling to get there.

No, I suggest request the city block off Bourbon St on the grounds of a parade.

[Rothman]

Hm.  Wonder if this will turn into a modern take on Easy Rider.

[roadwaywiz95]

I will suggest; however, that if you choose a restaurant in the Quarter, we may wish to look into carpooling to get there.

I don't anticipate any of the pre/post-meet restaurants being located in the Quarter, however a Friday night "Welcome" dinner over that way is an option on the table.

[jasonh300]

Someone, somewhere (presumably on one of the Facebook pages or groups...can't find it now) asked about the Belle Chasse Tunnel for the February meet.  I spoke with my contact on the bridge crew down there today, and he said that by February, the tunnel will be permanently closed.  The approach for the new bridge crosses the current approach for the tunnel, so they'll complete the northbound lanes, which are away from the tunnel, and then route southbound traffic on those lanes until they can finish the real southbound approach.

[roadwaywiz95]

There is also news this week on the Harvey Tunnel, as a long-term closure will be underway at the time of the meet:

https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/harvey-tunnel-prepares-for-shutdown-construction-irritates-drivers/289-ae1e4712-7d2c-4858-96a3-bf0ec24c6fa0

[jasonh300]

National Road Meet - New Orleans, Louisiana - February 17-18, 2024
https://youtu.be/O9wEjx9EOQk

[roadwaywiz95]

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, I'll chime in with a quick update here to let you folks know that things have been quite busy behind the scenes here of late as the plan for the weekend (which, today, is three months away) comes into greater focus.

There's a lot of 'teaser' footage that Jason H and I filmed while I was in town earlier in the month - we've already published one trailer video on the 504 Road Trips YouTube channel; expect more of that kind of stuff from us in the weeks ahead!

Link to our first trailer video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9wEjx9EOQk

Link to a short behind-the-scenes look at a couple meet highlights out by the Airport:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSXa0LsuK9s

I'm keeping an eye on a few in-progress developments in the "Westbank" part of the region, including construction projects that are well underway and those that will be just starting by the time February rolls around. I'm also working on a potential guest speaker (or something else if the opportunity arises) for one of the days of the meet. All of this will continue to be worked on and refined in the weeks ahead.

And with that, I hope everyone here has a great Thanksgiving and I'll be in touch with everyone as we head into December!

[codyg1985]

I think I'll do my damnedest to make this one.

I will suggest; however, that if you choose a restaurant in the Quarter, we may wish to look into carpooling to get there.

No, I suggest request the city block off Bourbon St on the grounds of a parade.

Parking is hella expensive in that area, so I agree with Brandon there.