Project to serve two purposes in Houma

As Louisiana gears up for a hurricane season that is anticipated to be unyielding, Terrebonne Parish has turned its Thompson Road extension project into a hurricane protection project as well.

The new roadway will be approximately 2.8 miles and will connect La. Highways 57 and 56 south of the Houma Airbase, and will be implemented in two phases.

“The project will provide two benefits,” said Gentry Brann of The Shaw Group, the construction company that is overseeing the project.

“Phase 1, which is construction of the embankment, will provide an approximately 8-foot level of protection from tropical storm-induced surges within the limits of the project,” she said. This elevation is targeted specifically to help add protection to east Houma.

Brann stresses, however, the constructed project is not intended to provide comprehensive hurricane protection.

The first phase of the project is estimated to cost approximately $4.3 million, and $3.5 million of that has been approved by the Terrebonne Parish’s allocation of Louisiana Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Grant funds resulting from hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and parish funds will be used to cover any remaining costs on Phases 1 and 2.

“The Louisiana Capital Outlay program has approved $250,000 and may approve more funds in future years,” Brann said.

The construction bid for the project will be drafted by late summer of this year, after negotiations with landowners have been completed.

“The major landowners have been contacted by a TPCG representative to determine how impacts to current sugarcane farming operations can be minimized,” said Brann.

Phase 2, which is construction of the roadway, will provide an alternative evacuation route between La. Highway 56 and La. Highway 57. Residents will not have to be concerned with rerouting traffic because the construction will be a new corridor. The completed roadway will provide an alternative to Woodlawn Ranch Road between La. Highway 56 and La. Highway 57, according to Brann.

“Phase 2 is estimated at $5.7 million and will begin 12 to 18 months after Phase 1 is complete to allow the embankment time to consolidate,” Brann said.

Residents can expect construction of Phase 1 to begin during fall 2010, immediately following the bid.