News roundup: Work on former GM plant in Monroe begins again … UL students create podcast to tell stories of 2016 floods … Louisiana scores $45M grant to replace Belle Chasse bridge

Demo derby: Demolition of the former General Motors and Guide headlamp plant in Monroe should begin again this month after work there was delayed to maximize the recycling value of the steel under new federal tariffs, The News Star reports. More than 3,000 tons of steel alone will be recycled from the former plant. Drake Mills, the chief executive of Origin Bank who’s handling the property for energy and trucking titan James Davison, says the contractor was also pulled away temporarily to meet other obligations. But the ultimate goal for the site remains in place, Mills says. Read the full story.
Podcasts producers: Students taking a public history course at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette have created a podcast series about the floods of August 2016. The floods affected 56 of the state’s 64  parishes, killed 13 people and did more than $8.7 million in damage across 20 of the worst-hit parishes. “UNDERWATER: Memories of the 2016 Floods” is based on dozens of interviews conducted last year by faculty and student researchers, who are continuing to interview flood survivors. See the group’s Facebook page.  
Building bridges: The Louisiana Department of Transportation will receive $45 million for the Belle Chasse Bridge and Tunnel Replacement project which replaces a more than 60-year-old reinforced-concrete tunnel and the adjacent structural steel vertical-lift-span bridge crossing the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, according to an announcement from U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao. The replacement bridge will be a single fixed-span with four lanes, and it will also include a separate protected lane for pedestrian and bicycle. Read the full announcement.