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WEBVTT SAY SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISCUSSEDBY NOW.IN THE LATE NIGHT HOURS,STATUE OF CONFEDERATE GENERALPGT. BEAUREGARD WAS HOISTED FRITS PEDESTAL AT THE ENTRANCE TOCITY PARK WITH CROWDS OF PEOPLELOOKING ON FROM BEHINDBARRICADES.>> RELIEVED, GRATEFUL.IT FEELS LIKE A NEW DAY.TRANSFORMATION.I HAVE MIXED EMOTIONS.CASEY: PEOPLE STOPPING BY TOTAKE PICTURES OF THE EMPTYPEDESTAL AND S IT FIRSTHAND.>> WHEN I SAW THE CRUMBLING OFTHE FACADE, IT KIND OF LOOKSSAD.CASEY: WITH TWO OF THE STATUESGONE BEAUREGARD IN CITY PARK,, JEFFERSON DAVIS IN MID CITY,AND ONE MORE TO COME DOWN,ROBERT E. LEE IN THE CBD MANYQUESTION WHAT WILL REPLACE THEM >> IS THE PLAN GOING TO BE THATVISITORS COMING WILL SEE THESEEMPTY PEDESTALS?CASEY: THE MAYOR GAVE LITTLEINSIGHT IN THE PROCESS PLANNEDTO REPLACE THESE CONFEDERATE-ERASYMBOLS AND FILL THE EMPTY STONEPEDESTALS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.>> WE WILL ANNOUNCE A PROCESS TOHOPEFULLY DO SOMETHING BETTER.AND WHEN GENERAL LEAD COMES DOWNWE WILL HAVE ANOTHER -- LCOMES DOWN WE WILL HAVE ANOTHERPROCESS AND I THINK IT WILL BEPRETTIER AND NICER THAN THEY AREAND WILL REFLECT THE SOUL OF THECITY.CASEY: AND IT'S THE LACK OF APLAN THAT NOW HAS SOME UP INARMS.

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After more than 100 years in the city's skyline, the statue of Robert E. Lee will be removed beginning Friday morning, officials confirmed.The city said in a statement Thursday evening that the removal process would take place between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. It's the last Confederate monument Mayor Mitch Landrieu has sought to remove from New Orleans.Street closures will be in place beginning at 4 a.m. Friday. Road closures include the intersections of Calliope and Carondelet, St. Charles Avenue and Calliope, Howard Avenue and Carondelet, as well as St. Joseph and St. Charles Avenue.Officials expect traffic to return to normal by 5 p.m.Speculation began Thursday afternoon that the city was preparing to remove the Lee statue as additional barricades arrived around the roundabout. WDSU reporter Travers Mackel said no-parking signs were also placed around Lee Circle as officers began surveying the area. Link: Watch VIDEO from scene here Lee's statue atop the obelisk is the last remaining Confederate monument that the city has targeted for removal. Landrieu plans to make a special address Friday afternoon at reception at Gallier Hall on the completion of the removal process. The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority said Thursday afternoon that the St. Charles Streetcar line will be detoured from Erato Street to the downtown loop until further notice. Officials said buses will replace streetcars in the affected service area. Crews have already removed the Battle of Liberty Place monument and the statues of Jefferson Davis and P.G.T. Beauregard. The removal process has taken place during the overnight hours with the help of masked crews and large equipment. "While we must honor our history, we will not allow the Confederacy to be put on a pedestal in the heart of New Orleans," Landrieu said in a statement Tuesday. This is a developing story. Stay with WDSU.com for updates. Keep up with local news, weather and current events with the WDSU app here. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news right in your inbox. Click here to sign up!