Tagged: flood protection

The westbound lanes on South Claiborne Ave. between Cambronne St. in Orleans Parish and Dakin St. in Jefferson Parish will close for two years, the City of New Orleans said today in a press release.

The closure, set to begin Sept. 17, is due to work being conducted on the drainage system beneath the street and neutral ground. Motorists will be detoured onto the eastbound lanes of South Claiborne.

Ascension Parish government officials say a proposed Mississippi River diversion project in St. James Parish may be a way to blunt the kind of high storm surge seen after Hurricane Isaac.

The Advocate reports parish officials would like the diversion project planned near Romeville to be reversible as part of a broader flood protection plan in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin.

Under that concept, water would flow not only from the Mississippi into the Maurepas Swamp, but also from the swamp into the river in times of high water in the lake basin.

The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a contract to improve drainage at the Trapp Canal on the west bank of Jefferson Parish.

Corps officials say the project, which is part of the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Damage Reduction Project, will reduce the risk of damage from a 1-in-10-years rainfall.

The $14.7 million contract to was awarded to Hamp's Construction LLC. Under the contract, 7,400 feet of the canal will be widened and other improvements made between Bayou Fatima and Bayou Barataria.

Ouachita Parish officials say they're seeking more than $165,000 in state funding for drainage improvement projects.

The News-Star reports that the parish typically receives $145,000 a year from the Local Government Assistance Program.

However, the Police Jury only gets $60,000 because the rest is divided among the cities of Monroe and West Monroe and the towns of Richwood and Sterlington.

Existing levees will be raised in two northeast Louisiana parishes starting in the next few weeks.

The levees held during the Mississippi River flood of 2011, but have settled gradually since being built in 1973.

Reynold Minsky is president of the 5th Louisiana Levee District board. He tells The News-Star of Monroe the changes will bring all of East Carroll Parish and most of Concordia Parish to 500-year flood protection levels.

A marsh management levee that is expected to become part of Terrebonne Parish's Morganza hurricane protection system was severely damaged during Hurricane Isaac.

The Courier reports the storm's tidal surge destroyed one of the levee's water control structures, washing it away and leaving behind a 50-foot gap.

Terrebonne Levee Director Reggie Dupre said the levee, which crosses open water in the Wildlife and Fisheries' Pointe-aux-Chenes Wildlife Management Area in Montegut, has caused repeated headaches for the levee district.