Mail Processing Resumes in New Orleans

April 4, 2006

Mail Processing Resumes in New Orleans
April 4, 2006 – The Associated Press is reporting that the Postal Service has begun processing mail Monday in New Orleans for the first time since Hurricane Katrina. Officials say this should eliminate delivery times of a week or more for cross-town mail.

"Our expectation is that we will get back to 95 percent overnight service," New Orleans Postmaster Alan Cousins said.

An embargo continues for magazines, newspapers, catalogs and other second-class mail, though it likely will be lifted next month, officials said.

Since the storm, letters destined for the New Orleans area, even if mailed locally, had to make a 540-mile loop through three cities to be processed, resulting in deliveries taking weeks.