Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, CPRA Board Chairman Chip Kline, Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) secretary Shawn Wilson and OCD Director Pat Forbes joined elected officials and levee direct leaders from Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes yesterday to flyover the Morganza to the Gulf Hurricane Protection System.
The tour also included the Larose to Golden Meadow hurricane protection system and the Terrebonne Barrier Island system.
The Morganza to the Gulf of Mexico project is located in coastal Louisiana approximately 60 miles southwest of New Orleans and includes portions of Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes. The authorized project area is bounded on the west by Bayou Du Large and State Highway 311 and on the east by Bayou Lafourche with the east and west boundaries forming an apex at Thibodaux, LA.
This project aims to protect people and property as well as the remaining fragile marsh from hurricane storm surge in the vicinity of Houma, Louisiana.
The area has been affected by an extreme deterioration of coastal marshes as a result of saltwater intrusion, land subsidence and the lack of sediment deposits from the Mississippi River and its tributaries. This deterioration has led to increased hurricane and storm surge inundation.
The area is also significantly affected by tides emanating from the Gulf of Mexico.