Lightweight Aggregate Protects Historic Live Oaks in New Orleans
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Key Insights:
Quick Facts
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Name: Esplanade Avenue Live Oak Restoration
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Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
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Customer: City of New Orleans – Parks & Parkways Department
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Client: Residents and visitors along Esplanade Avenue
How Arcosa Helped
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Our Solution: Supplied expanded shale and clay for surface pathway layers and radial trenching via air excavation to open root zones.
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Why Lightweight Works: pH‑neutral, durable, and porous; the angular particles interlock to form a stable matrix that reduces compaction, improves oxygen/water movement, and supports foot traffic.
Final Results
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A resilient, walkable neutral ground with healthier live oaks and protected root zones, preserving the historic character of Esplanade Avenue.
Key Quote
Context:
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Considerations: On‑surface solution to avoid root damage; maintain pH neutrality; ensure load support for ongoing foot traffic.
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Lesson to Learn: Early soil/aggregate selection enables both root health and durable public access without invasive excavation.
Explore Further
Lightweight Aggregate Protects Historic Live Oaks in New Orleans
Arcosa Lightweight’s expanded shale and clay helped restore and protect New Orleans’ historic live oaks on Esplanade Avenue by relieving compaction, improving drainage, and preserving the neutral ground’s character.
Background
New Orleans’ live oaks are central to the city’s identity. Following Hurricane Katrina, many trees—especially along Esplanade Avenue—were damaged by flooding, debris, heavy equipment, and years of pedestrian compaction.
Challenges
The City of New Orleans Parks and Parkways Department needed a solution that would strengthen soils without excavation, avoid altering already alkaline soils, and withstand ongoing pedestrian traffic while protecting shallow root systems.
Lightweight, Structural Solution
In consultation with LSU AgCenter experts, the team specified Arcosa Lightweight’s expanded shale and clay. Produced nearby in Erwinville, Louisiana, the pH‑neutral, porous, angular aggregate provides permanent pore space for oxygen and water while supporting loads.
Crews placed lightweight aggregate as a surface pathway material on the neutral ground and used air excavation to install it in radial trenches around tree roots. This stabilized matrix relieves compaction, improves infiltration, and encourages larger, healthier root systems.
Results
Esplanade Avenue now features a winding, pedestrian‑friendly path that protects root zones and preserves the corridor’s historic character. The live oaks show healthier growth, and the neutral ground remains resilient for daily use and city maintenance.
