Houma Navigation Canal receives final funding to complete lock complex
The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority received $163 million towards the Houma Navigation Canal.
CPRA, the Coastal Restoration Authority, received two of the largest grants ever awarded by the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council: one $130 million for the River Reintroduction into Maurepas Swamp Project, and the other $163 million for the Houma Navigation Canal's Lock Complex.
The lock complex will limit salt water from reaching the Terrebonne Basin. The project will create a double gate system, 800 feet in length, and 23-and-a-half feet high on the south end. It will be directly adjacent to the 250-foot-wide Bubba Dove barge floodgate. It will allow boats in and out of the Morganza to the Gulf hurricane protection system while minimizing the saltwater that would enter with them.
This works by allowing the boat through the first gate and shutting it behind them. As the boat sits between the two gates, the water will rise or lower to match the level behind the second gate. After it matches, the second gate opens to allow the vessel through. This $163 million shores up all the funds necessary to complete the project and according to CPRA Chairman Gordon "Gordy" Dove, the project should be completed in about three-and-a-half years.
"The challenge we face along our deteriorating coast is complex and expensive to solve," Dove said. "These two grants from the restore council are a huge win for our coastal program and will allow us to advance two major projects that will benefit Louisiana for generations to come."
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The Maurepas Swamp grant partially funds the state's second-largest coastal swamp forest, 45,000 acres, revitalization project. It seeks to channel water from the Mississippi River to reintroduce freshwater and sediments to the swamp.
Levees constructed to hold back floodwaters blocked the river flow to the swamp for about 100 years, a release from the CPRA stated.
"Pioneering, transformational projects like the River Reintroduction into Maurepas Swamp and the HNC Lock Complex are imperative to CPRA's mission," SPRA Executive Director Glenn Ledet Jr. said. "Projects like these and others highlighted in Louisiana's Coastal Master Plan allow us to continue our efforts to protect the ecosystems, industry, and communities."
This article originally appeared on The Courier: Houma Navigation Canal receives final funding to finish lock system
