Posted on May 10, 2018
By Mark Schleifstein, NOLA.com
The Army Corps of Engineers plans to spend $205 million in emergency funds to dredge and repair a variety of waterways in south Louisiana, including the Mississippi, Atchafalaya and Calcasieu rivers, the corps said Monday (May 7).
Part of the money will be used to dredge the southern end of Southwest Pass, the main navigation entry to the Mississippi River, whose depth had been reduced to 42 feet, three feet lower than authorized, by sediment carried by this year’s high-river conditions.
Ocean-going vessels using the channel have been forced to reduce cargo, at a cost of several million dollars per ship, because of the shoaling conditions.
That segment is part of the Baton Rouge to the Gulf of Mexico Mississippi River project, which will receive $40 million. Part of that money will also be used for repairs of jetties and foreshore rock along Southwest Pass.
The river maintenance money was included in the Bipartisan Budget Act, a supplemental appropriations bill aimed at providing money for response to recent hurricanes and other natural disasters, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump on Feb. 9.
The funding was praised by several of the state’s Congressional delegation.
“It’s vital for our state’s security and economy to repair damage from recent disasters that was done to our flood protection systems and navigational projects,” said Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson and House majority whip, in a news release. “That’s why I fought to include supplemental funding for these projects.”
“When I met with the corps, I stressed the importance of providing Louisiana with the resources needed to make significant progress on these projects and others, and I’m glad they are listening,” said U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., in a statement released Monday. Cassidy met with senior corps officials on April 27.
The Mississippi River outlets at Venice, another separate project, will get $12.9 million, which includes money to dredge Baptiste Collette, which runs from the river east to Breton Sound, and for jetty repairs.
The Calcasieu River and Pass get the biggest chunk of money, $103 million, to conduct maintenance on several dredged material disposal sites, dredging the river and its bar channel, placement of rock for foreshore protection, and addressing erosion and scour at the river’s Saltwater Barrier structure.
The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, which stretches across the state’s coastline, will get $8.11 million. Part of that money will pay for work on dolphins — barriers placed to prevent ships from damaging structures — at the Industrial Canal lock in New Orleans. The money also will pay for repair work at the Algiers and Port Allen locks, and dredging.
Bayou Lafourche and the Lafourche Jump Waterway will get $11.1 million, with the money used to dredge the bar channel near the mouth of the bayou and for jetty repairs.
The Atchafalaya River and Bayous Chene, Boeuf and Black in the Morgan City area will get $20 milliion for dredging a bar channel, among other work.
The Freshwater Bayou will see $10 million spent on dredging the channel and repairs to the Freshwater Bayou Lock guidewall, where erosion is occurring.
Source: Nola
