Leon Theriot floodgate set for repair

The Leon Theriot and Adam “Ted” Gisclair floodgates are in line for repairs following action taken Dec. 10 by the South Lafourche Levee District.

At its monthly meeting, the levee district board approved $98,000 in repair work for both floodgates, with work expected to begin in January.

According to levee district general manager Windell Curole, the repair work will be primarily performed on the bumper system leading up to the actual gates.

“With the volume of marine traffic that passes through the gates, it is inevitable that the guide walls and pilings leading to the gates will be hit by vessels from time to time as they maneuver in and out of the levee system at both ends of Bayou Lafourche,” said Curole. “This is standard maintenance work – primarily on the pilings and dolphins – that has been deferred since Hurricane Katrina because of the lack of available contractors to do the job.”

Work will be performed on pilings on both the east and west sides of the bayou at both floodgates.

Workers will replace and repair timber pilings and sills destroyed or significantly damaged by marine traffic.

Curole said only routine maintenance is planned on the actual steel gates themselves since those are in good working order.

Vessels navigating the two areas are urged to use caution, Curole said. The work is expected to take two to three months and should be completed by early spring, weather permitting.