Port projects take shape

The Port of Morgan City board found some good fortune in the financial numbers Monday and is hoping for more.
The board heard from Special Projects Manager Michael Knobloch that a state-funded fire protection installation at the port’s warehouse was completed with nearly enough money to pay for a new roof on the structure.
The Trump administration budget for the budget year beginning Oct. 31 includes about $30.6 million for operation and maintenance, with the prospect for more in the work plan for the Corps of Engineers, which is responsible for keeping the port’s channel open.
And the port will apply for federal funding for five projects, mostly involving equipment to monitor what the Atchafalaya River is doing.
Funding for the port, especially dredging to keep the channel at its authorized 20-foot depth, has become increasingly important in recent years as shipbuilding activity has increased along local waterways.
The warehouse roof project became possible when the Legislature’s capital outlay funding for the fire protection project turned out to be $252,000 more than was needed.
With the state’s OK, Knobloch said, the leftover funds will go toward a new seamless roof. The lowest legal bid came in at $280,400.
The president’s budget for work on the Atchafalaya in fiscal 2027 is roughly the average for the last four fiscal years.
What isn’t known yet is whether additional funding through the federal budget process, including the development of the Corps of Engineers work plan, will be available. Work plan funding has varied from $14 million to $32 million in recent fiscal years, leaving between $41 million and $48 million total for operation and maintenance.
The fiscal 2027 president’s budget includes $7.5 million specifically for dredging in the Atchafalaya Basin after fluctuating near $5.8 million since fiscal 2023.
The board is also seeking federal funding for five projects.
They include two meteorological stations in the Gulf and three drones.
One drone would cover the area near the port itself, another the Berwick side of the Atchafalaya and another covering the Bayou Chene Flood Control structure. Additional money is being sought for a digital method for monitoring the waterways and maintenance for a 15-year-old vessel belonging to the port district.