(The Center Square) — Officials say several coastal protection and restoration projects in Louisiana have moved closer to completion.
The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board gave the updates during a meeting Wednesday. The briefing led off with one completed project, the LaRose floodwall.
With $2.1 million in state funding, the floodwall will prevent flooding in South Lafourche near Golden Meadow, an area that desperately needed it.
The next construction update was on the Bayou La Loutre Ridge, which is a $35 million project that has started construction since the board’s last meeting in July.
Two other projects began in that timeframe. The $37 million Mid Breton land bridge began dredging and phase two of the Houma Navigation Canal Lock Complex started digging as well.
The HNC Lock Complex is a large-scale hydrologic restoration project that will help limit saltwater intrusion and distribute freshwater within the Terrebonne Basin, allowing for the maintenance of thousands of acres of wetlands, which serve as critical wildlife habitat and nurseries for fisheries.
Gov. Jeff Landry held a news conference at the site when the digging for phase two began to show his support of the project expected to finish by 2028.
For projects in the engineering and design stage, there were also several updates. The Bayou Cane marsh creation in Saint Tammany was issued a permit to start planning construction. The project that would create 380 acres of marsh is expected to be advertised and offered to a construction company by May 2025.
The Cheniere Au Tigre shoreline protection program is also anticipating a bid in the next six months.
Saint Tammany could also be getting a huge flood risk reduction project after a feasibility study initiated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was completed since the last meeting.
It took them four years to draft a realistic structure of the project. That’s because it’s a $5.9 billion effort that involves structural protection with an 18.5 mile levee and nonstructural protection with home elevations and residential floodproofing.
The authority said if the project gets off the ground following the successful feasibility study, this will be the largest coastal project in the draft phase nationally.
The board emphasized the importance of initial assessments of project ideas like the Saint Tammany flood risk reduction. That’s why they ended their presentation praising and appreciating the $25 million grant for the System Wide Assessment & Monitoring Program from the RESTORE council.
The board also received its first wave of funding, $10 million, for the Chandeleur Island project they pushed heavily in the last meeting.
There are still 107 active coastal protection projects in Louisiana, and the CPRA says their fiscal 2025 annual plan is working to get that number up to 135.
