Contractors began driving sheet piling at the Bayou Barataria edge in the town Jean Lafitte last Wednesday. This marked the beginning of a project to increase flood protection for the community.
Circle Construction of Belle Chasse is constructing nearly two miles of concrete capped floodwalls in the bayou as part of theRosethorne Tide Protectionproject. The walls will rise to 7.5 feet above sealevel and are expected to protect against high tides and rainstorms that occur in 10 years.
The purple outline is the footprint of the Rosethorne Tidal Protection Project’s first and second phases. A concrete-capped wall will …
The first phase will cost $11million. The project’s cost will rise to $34million for the second phase. It involves the construction of an earthen levee at South Edge.
In a press release, Tim Kerner Jr. stated that the Rosethorne Basin Levee System is now in operation. This is another major win for our community. We will emerge stronger and more resilient from Hurricane Ida than ever before. Our goal is to have several major levee projects under way in 2022.
The Lafitte area’s existing levee system, some of which is at 7.5 feet above sealevel, was blown over by Hurricane Ida in 2021. This storm surge caused extensive damage to many homes, businesses, and other structures in the area.
Rosethorne is second in a series of 10 sets floodwalls and levees that are being built to the 10-year standards to reduce flooding in the Lafitte region of Jefferson Parish. The first, theFisher School Basin floodwall project, added 3 mi of concrete cap floodwall and sheet pile to the existing levee system.
This reduced flood risk by 450 acres in Lafitte which includes more 300 residential and commercial properties.
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The latest project is being managed by the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and Lafitte Area Independent Levee District. It is also overseen by the state Department of Transportation. The cost of this project is partially being funded by CPRA, the transportation department, and the rest will come from state Capital Outlay funds and oil money received through the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act.
Future floodwall and levee improvements in the area are planned for Goose Bayou, Lower Lafitte. Pailet Basin. Crown Point Basin. Lower Barataria Basin. Upper La. 45, Lower La. 45, Lower La.
A map showing the 10 floodwalls and levees that have been built to reduce flooding in Jefferson Parish’s Lafitte. (Coastal Protection and Resto…
Chip Kline, chairman, of the coastal authority, stated that more than $300 million will be used to construct 29 miles worth of levees and floodwalls in the region. “This level investment is a game-changer for the community at Lafitte.
With the destruction caused by Hurricane Ida last year, it is exciting that construction is underway for the Rosethorne basin levee system. State Rep. Tim Kerner, ex-mayor of Jean Lafitte and father to the current mayor, added:
Two Kerners and other community leaders are urging federal and state officials and to build higher levees that would protect against surges caused from a storm with a 1% chance, a so-called 100 year storm. This is the same level as the protection that was given to New Orleans, New Orleans, and other east bank areas following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
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This work is supported by a grant from the Walton Family Foundation, administered by the Society of Environmental Journalists.
