Sheila Alldredge
January 22, 2008
Lillie Reed
January 24, 2008
Installation of a long-awaited lock to replace the floodgates at the southern-most end of South Lafourche’s levee system is set to begin early next month.
Bayou dredging just north of the floodgates will start in February.
The project officially kicked off Friday with a dedication of the Leon Theriot Lock.
The lock is named in memory of the former South Lafourche Levee District president; Theriot was instrumental in obtaining the initial funding for the ring levee system that now surrounds the 10th Ward of Lafourche Parish.
A number of federal, state and local officials were on hand at the South Lafourche Levee District office in Galliano to help mark the event.
The lock will replace the current antiquated floodgates, which must be closed when tides rise as little as a foot because of approaching inclement weather.
Originally scheduled to be built and installed in 2005, the lock was estimated to cost $7 million at the time. However, hurricanes Katrina and Rita bumped the cost to almost $25 million due in large part to demand for materials and labor after the storms.
To get the project back on track, the South Lafourche Levee District, the project’s main sponsor, partnered with the Greater Lafourche Port Commission and the Lafourche Parish Council to raise money for the work. The port commission and council each agreed to put $2 million toward the construction and implementation of the lock.
According to Windell Curole, the general manager of the levee district, State Sen. Reggie Dupre (D-Bourg) and State Rep. Loulan Pitre Jr. (R-Cut Off) were instrumental in getting the state to put nearly $18 million toward the project.
“This project was too important for it to sit and languish,” said Dupre, noting the vital role Bayou Lafourche plays in servicing Port Fourchon and the port marine traffic.
The locks are expected to take approximately one year to install, depending on the weather. However, Curole said he expects the new system to be useable by the beginning of the 2009 hurricane season.
“This project has been a long time coming,” Curole said. “It’s had some setbacks, largely beyond our control, but it will get completed. It’s just too important not to get done.”
Windell Curole, general manager of the South Lafourche Levee District, and Garney Gautreaux, district director for U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon, share the microphone at Friday’s lock installation ceremony. * Photo by DOUG CHERAMIE
