Franklin flood protection on the way?

The Franklin City Council wasted no time last Tuesday surrendering $640,000 in capital outlay funds to the St. Mary Parish Levee District for a flood protection plan that, once complete, is expected to protect parts of the city from hurricane storm surge.

With no floodgate to hold back rising tides at the Franklin Canal last September, Hurricane Ike’s surge poured into 1,000 St. Mary Parish homes. Water reached as far east as Garden City.

The St. Mary Parish Levee District committed money to installing a floodgate, despite project engineer Glenn Miller’s contention that it will be a “temporary project in need of a permanent fix.”

Miller is seeking construction of a floodgate across the Franklin Canal along with a 12-foot sheet pile levee extending from the canal north to the Yorkley levee.

The gate structure will be located south of U.S. Hwy. 90 and the Fairfax Bailey Boat Landing, and will include a navigational opening between 20 and 30 feet that could be closed before a hurricane approaches St. Mary’s coast.

The monies Franklin surrendered – $640,000 in state capital outlay funds awarded last year – will pay for the work.

State Rep. Sam Jones has secured an additional $1.1 million commitment from the state for the project, according to Franklin Mayor Raymond Harris.

“This project will stop the surge,” Harris said. “Now all we need is to get the U.S. Corps of Engineers to approve it.”

Miller agreed saying, “It’s going to be a permitting situation because this is a navigable waterway and it involves wetlands.

“Will it be installed before the 2009 hurricane season?” he asked. “We’re going to do what we have to to make sure it is.”

However, City Councilman Dale Rogers suggested the work begin soon, saying, “It’s a lot easier to ask for forgiveness.”

Miller said he could not commit to a target date, but indicated the project would take about three to five months to complete.

In advance of last hurricane season, Harris led an effort to build a six-foot levee along the Franklin Canal to protect residents east of Willow Street. But Hurricane Ike’s surge reached seven feet, causing the levee to fail and sending water east of the canal.

The makeshift levee was further compromised when some landowners refused to allow Harris to build it on their property. Ike’s surge infiltrated the holes in the levee system, sending water flooding the west side of the canal toward Pecan Acres.

“We took the heat when it didn’t work, but we kept on working,” Harris said last fall. “Regardless of whether we had signed agreements to build a levee or a lock project, we needed something to keep out high water levels.

“Neither project would have been completed in time for last year’s hurricane season,” he added. “We had two choices: One, to sit there and do nothing or the other, to build a levee on our own – and that’s what we did.”

Hurricane Ike’s seven-foot storm surge easily toppled the Franklin Canal’s six-foot wall, sending flood waters into approximately 7,000 homes. The parish is looking to build a floodgate near the area to correct the problem. * File Photo / Tri-Parish Times