A number of officials in Louisiana representing the state, Jefferson Parish and the town of Jean Lafitte were on hand Sept. 5 near Bayou Barataria to celebrate the beginning of a $14 million levee and floodwall project that aims to bolster protections for the flood-prone community against tidal surge.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that the Lower Lafitte Basin Tidal Surge Project is a collaboration between the Lafitte Area Independent Levee District, the Louisiana Coastal Protection Restoration Authority (CPRA), the state Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD), and Jefferson Parish.
The effort is the third in recent years that seeks to protect the greater Lafitte area against storm surge and will add another 3 mi. of levee protection when completed.
Bren Haase, chairman of the Louisiana CPRA, called the project's groundbreaking a "significant step" in the area's protection.
"The greater Lafitte area not only plays a pivotal role in the Louisiana seafood industry but is also home to a unique, vital and irreplaceable culture," he told the New Orleans news source. "We cannot afford to sit by and do nothing as we continue to experience stronger and more frequent storms."
Only So Much Resilience
Built along Bayou Barataria parallel to Jean Lafitte Boulevard, the levee project will include more than 7,000 ft. of a concrete-capped floodwall, another 7,300-ft. long modified earthen levee, and 2,800 ft. of newly constructed earthen levee — all of which will be 7-ft.-6-in. tall and totaling more than 3 mi. in length.
Additionally, the construction includes three swing gates and one roller gate.
The $14 million price tag will be paid from a combination of CRPA, DOTD, Gulf of Mexico Security Act and state Capital Outlay funds, the Times-Picayune reported.
Jefferson Parish Council member Ricky Templet said Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, Isaac and Zeta all brought tidal surges of 6 ft. or less.
However, he described Hurricane Ida in 2021 as "a different beast" that inundated the area with 11 ft. of water. If the levee had been taller back then, Templet noted, only Ida would have flooded the area.
"The people are resilient, but they can only take it so many times," he added. "Hopefully this gives us a break from the smaller storms."
Lafitte Mayor Tim Kerner Jr. said all that water, mud and debris from Ida brought an "immense amount of human suffering."
He added, "These people down here, arguably ground zero for Hurricane Ida, they've been left out of federal levee protection. This levee really symbolizes that they matter to the people in state government."
Project the Third of 10 Lafitte Levees to Be Built
Haase said the various Louisiana groups represented at the groundbreaking may acquire federal funding to build a 100-year hurricane protection levee in the future. The current levee project is the third in a series of 10 planned projects in the Lafitte Tidal Program that includes 30 mi. of levees, floodwalls and other protections, the Times-Picayune reported.
The Fisher School Basin, a project that added 3 mi. of sheet pile and concrete cap floodwall, was completed in 2018, and the Rosethorne Basin project, which broke ground last March will add 10,300 ft. of concrete-capped floodwall and floodgates at an elevation of 7-ft.-6-in.
Improvements to Goose Bayou, Pailet Basin, Crown Point Basin, Lower Barataria Basin, Upper LA 45, Lower LA 45, and Jones Point Basin are all planned for down the road.
Templet said $12 million has been spent on project design over the years, paid for by funds from his office's discretionary account, BP Oil settlement money, the Restore Act and district discretionary funds.
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