October 15
October 15, 2007
Ruberta LaCoste
October 17, 2007The South Lafourche Levee District opened bids last Wednesday to install a lock north of the Leon Theriot floodgates below Golden Meadow.
Four companies submitted bids ranging from $18.5 to $25.3 million to install the gates, build the associated bumper system and construct the connecting levees once the lock is in place.
Initially budgeted at approximately $7 million, work on the lock was delayed because of Hurricane Katrina.
Afterward, costs skyrocketed to $20 million based on the rising costs of materials after the storm, as well as a shortage of available qualified firms to handle the work.
Work has long since finished on the construction of the actual gates, but they have sat dormant in a Morgan City and Houma waterway while levee district officials have sought funding to pay for the installation.
The state, largely through the efforts of state Sen. Reggie Dupre, agreed to pick up as much as $18 million of the anticipated costs.
Levee district general manager Windell Curole said the district is obligated to accept the lowest bid in the process, provided that the contractor meets all required guidelines.
For example, the contractor must post a performance bond.
Curole said work could begin in “a few weeks” after officials have determined the suitability of a contractor and officially notified the state of its choice.
“The goal is to begin the work by December and hopefully we can be back to using the normal channel of Bayou Lafourche again by the summer,” he said.
When the gate installation begins, mariners will have to use a secondary channel just east of the main channel.
All marine traffic will be stopped for upward of 12 hours a day for work. Boat and barge traffic will be allowed passage at night.
Curole said some closures could be even longer, depending on the phase of work during the installation process.
