Corps wants to cut new HNC

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wants to cut a new half-mile channel for the Houma Navigation Canal 1,000 feet to the west of the present alignment between Timbalier Island and Isles Dernieres south of Terrebonne Bay.

The westward drift of Timbalier Island, located near Grand Isle, is causing the current channel to become shallower, requiring more frequent dredging to allow shipping to pass, said Ed Creed, environmental resources specialist with the Corps.

Federal law requires the bar channel segment of the canal to have a depth of 18 feet. The bar channel runs west of Timbalier Island into the Gulf. The new channel would have the same 300-foot width of the former alignment.

Creed said the Corps is preparing environmental assessments on the project for the federal government.

Around 73 acres of material would be dredged for the project. The material would be deposited near the bar channel further south or, pending additional funding, would be pumped to Timbalier Island, Isles Dernieres and Wine Island.

The Corps is anticipating the proposed new channel will not need to be dredged for a long time.

“We hope it won’t have to be dredged, but it will have to be dredged eventually,” Creed said. “It could be years from now or it could be next year if a hurricane hits.”

The Cat Island Pass bar channel segment of the canal south of the proposed project area requires maintenance dredging around every two years.