Leeville to receive public boat launch; should benefit local business

Building the elevated highway in lower Lafourche was the first step in a much-needed process for the area.

But one community claims to have seen nothing but negative effects so far.

That’s because the new bridge causes traffic to bypass many of the marinas, stores, restaurants, bait shops and motels in Leeville.

Don Griffin, owner of Griffin’s Marina in Leeville, represents 18 businesses that would like to see a public boat launch built in Leeville. Only two Leeville businesses are against the proposal.

“We’re trying to increase revenues to help all the businesses survive,” said Griffin. “We’re trying to promote Leeville and bring in people to offset the loss of revenue from the toll bridge that went around Leeville and left us high and dry.”

According to Griffin, Leeville businesses have lost 30 to 45 percent of sales revenues due to the decrease in car traffic.

But Griffin believes the public boat launch would turn the negative of the toll bridge into a positive.

“Now that there’s no traffic in Leeville, it’s starting to turn into a nice, little fishing village,” said Griffin. “Instead of deterring business to Fourchan or Grand Isle, maybe now the toll bridge might entice people to fish Leeville even more – don’t pay the toll, and stay on this side the bridge.”

However, Leeville cannot currently handle more fishing boats, because out of five boat launches, only one is available to the public.

Therefore, Leeville’s only public boat launch cannot satisfy everyone who would like to use it in the summer.

“The fishermen who want to launch at [the private] locations would have to provide a place to put their vehicle and boat trailer, which is blocked without a monthly fee for this privilege,” said Griffin.

Griffin said an additional public boat launch would not only alleviate the pressure off the other public boat launch, but it would also provide free parking for the fishermen.

“If you’re a resident of Terrebonne or Lafourche, and you come fishing down here, and you don’t have a camp or an RV sport rented, you need a place to launch your boat that you’re not worried about not having a guaranteed spot,” he explained.

Lafourche Parish councilman Rodney Doucet said the parish has begun plans to build the public boat launch, and it should be ready, “probably by September. They’re going to try to shoot for [this summer], but I don’t think that’s going to be a reality.”

Doucet added that there’s a possibility it could be ready for the August shrimp season.

The public boat launch will be built at the end of old La. Highway 1 where the Leeville Bridge used to reside.

“One of the reasons that location was chosen was because the state already owned that property, so they were going to donate it to the parish,” said Griffin. “And that alleviates cost of land acquisition and hopefully less mitigation costs. Instead of using costs for those two things, you could use it toward the actual engineering and construction to help it move forward faster.”