Bayou Teche flood project nearing completion

The Bayou Teche Flood Control Project is near completion but lacks some finishing touches, the Levee District director said recnetly.
“The Bayou Teche Control Structure at the Charenton Canal is not 100% complete because there are some last-minute items we are working on,” said Tim Matte, St. Mary Levee District executive director.
“It is functional in the sense that if some rogue storm or hurricane happened today, we could actually close the structure without any issues.
“The type of work that remains to be done is typical end-of-project cleanup and getting ready for operations.
“So, it’s basically ready to go. We will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony probably in the month of May.”
He added that the control structure had already served last year as a surge break during Hurricane Delta.
When the barge wasn't finished, but with the flood wall in place, the levee district shoved sheet pile across the opening where the barge would be, and it blocked the storm surge that came up the Charenton Canal, keeping it out of Bayou Teche and away from residents that live and work along the bayou.
“It is ready to go to work,” Matte said of the structure. “If we get a notice that there is a storm that’s coming in our direction, we will be making the preparations to close it, and we are in a position to do so without any long lead time.”
Matte also discussed having joined with St. Mary Parish government and the drainage district to work on the Yokley Canal, and acquiring the land rights around it.
“There is a large number of landowners in the vicinity,” Matte said, “and we are working on going through the logistics of getting right-of-ways from them, and that has unfortunately slowed the project down. But, hopefully we (levee district) will be able to assist them (drainage district) with that pro-ject.”
As for upcoming and continuing projects, Matte reported, “There is a levee south of Franklin that runs all the way to Charenton Canal, which we refer to as the Yokley Levee. It ties in at the Yokley pump station and runs on the south side of the community, almost all the way to the Charenton Canal. That levee was raised by St. Mary Parish in 2019 and 2020 all the way up to a 2.5-foot elevation, and it was probably at a 6- or 7-foot elevation prior to that, and we assisted in that project.”
He continued, “That levee terminates at Industrial Road, the road that passes in front of Metal Shark.
“Our next effort is to take the Yokley Levee and extend it northward to higher ground, to prevent the storm surge from coming over the land at Metal Shark, flowing into the drainage basin that is served by that Yokley pump station.
“What this levee will do is it will pick up at a high point along Industrial Road and run across the waterside of Metal Shark and Gulf Craft, and then tie in to high ground in the vicinity of the railroad track that runs parallel to U.S. 90.”
He went on to say that funds have been allocated by the state for the “Yokley Levee” project in the amount of $3 million.
According to Matte, those funds, along with previously borrowed funds by the levee district, and in conjunction with funds from the parish government will see to the necessities of the project.
He said the planning phase of the project is at 95% completion, and the levee district is working with the Department of Transportation and Development on acquiring permits, as well as they are trying to secure land rights from local landowners in the area.
“It will be a combination of levee and floodwalls,” he stated, “and there will be temporary closures across the area so that Gulf Craft and Metal Shark can still operate and have access to their waterfront. But, if there is an event coming, we will install the temporary gates to keep the water from going into that temporary drainage space.”
He closed by saying that the project will most likely be ready to go to bid over the next couple of months, and will see its beginnings and expected progress occur over the course of this year.