Money in place to fund Bayou Chene dredging

Another stretch of commercially important waterway in the Morgan City area is due for some more federal attention. Port of Morgan City Executive Director Raymond “Mac” Wade thinks it will be coming this fall.

It’s the dredging of Bayou Chene, which is the site of a new $80 million flood control structure but which hasn’t been dredged for more than a decade.
It’s an important waterway for local businesses, including the Conrad and Bollinger shipyards here. The bayou connects with the main Port of Morgan City channel at Crewboat Cut.

Wade had hoped the dredging could get underway last month. As the project stands now, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is preparing to advertise for bids.

Now Wade believes dredging could begin in mid-October.

In any case, $24 million in federal funding for the work has been approved, he said.

That’s enough to bring Bayou Chene, a federally recognized waterway, to its authorized depth of 20 feet, or maybe even 24 feet. The dredged width would be about 250 feet, Wade said, because the funding isn’t enough to pay for the full authorized width of 400 feet.

The Port of Morgan City has struggled in recent years to keep its main channel open to the Gulf because of sediment deposited from the Mississippi and Red rivers into the Atchafalaya River.

Bayou Chene doesn’t get that sediment, Wade said. But sticky mud does build up in the Bayou.

“It’s kind of like a mud hole,” Wade said.

Another dredging project is likely to be underway before the Bayou Chene dredging starts.

The Weeks Marine dredge Capt. Frank will work in Berwick Bay and the immediate area, Wade said. He thinks that work will start next month.

The work will focus on the Morgan City side of the bay, which is shallower and tends to collect more sediment.

That will help Morgan City riverfront businesses that rely on access to the water.

Wade said the Port of Morgan City’s channel remains open from the city to Gulf after more than a year of dredging.

Still at work is the Brice Civil Constructors barge Arulak, which is on duty to remove sticky “fluff” mud from the channel south of Eugene Island.

ST. MARY NOW

Franklin Banner-Tribune
P.O. Box 566, Franklin, LA 70538
Phone: 337-828-3706
Fax: 337-828-2874

Morgan City Review
1014 Front Street, Morgan City, LA 70380
Phone: 985-384-8370
Fax: 985-384-4255