UPDATED: Sen. Cassidy tours big projects: Bayou Chene structure and Brice dredge

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy toured two major St. Mary Parish projects Thursday and said both offer opportunities for the future.
“Morgan City and St. Mary Parish are positioning themselves for the next decade,” Cassidy, R-La., said on the Port of Morgan City dock.
Cassidy got an up-close look at the dredge Arulaq, which is reported to be successful in opening a channel important to the Port of Morgan City and the parish economy. And Cassidy traveled by boat to the Bayou Chene Flood Control Structure, designed to control back-flooding in six parishes.
The dredge was developed beginning in 2015 by Brice Civil Constructors to remove the sticky “fluff” mud that can foul vessel propulsion systems in the channel between Eugene Island and the Gulf of Mexico. That’s the first leg of the journey from the Gulf to the port itself.
Before a series of floods dumped sediment in local waterways beginning in 2011, the Port of Morgan City frequently served as a transshipment point for cargo, particularly rice, headed into and out of the United States. Shoaling and silting have all but eliminated that traffic.
The Brice dredge, developed with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers funding with a cap of more than $20 million, removes mud from the water using an agitation process.
“I know a rice exporter who used to use this (port) consistently,” Cassidy told reporters. “But he had to stop using it because the port silted in.”
When the Port of Morgan City is open, the senator said, vessels can load and unload cargo three miles from the Gulf rather than 100 miles from the Gulf in New Orleans. That means savings in time and money, Cassidy said.
“I can tell you that business will be there when it’s open,” the senator said.
Cassidy noted that the concept originated locally.
“The greatness of our country doesn’t come from the federal government,” he said. “It comes from the American people.”
The Bayou Chene project received $80 million from the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, which Cassidy championed, through the state Coastal Restoration and Protection Authority. The St. Mary Parish levee district reported that the structure, designed to prevent back-flooding when the Atchafalaya River runs high, is “under budget and on time,” according to a press release from the senator’s office.
The permanent Bayou Chene structure eliminates the need to sink a barge as temporary flood control measure when the Atchafalaya is up. That’s happened three times since 2011 at a cost of millions each time.
Construction of the structure is expected to be complete later this year.
In addition to its flood-control mission, the structure may offer opportunities for environmental restoration, the senator said.
Cassidy met with Raymond “Mac” Wade, the executive director of the Port of Morgan City, and Tim Matte, executive director of the St. Mary Levee District.
“I appreciate Senator Cassidy taking time out of his busy schedule to visit the Port of Morgan City today,” Wade said in a press release from the senator’s office. “He was able to witness firsthand the operation of the special purpose-built Dredge Arulaq, owned by Brice Civil Constructors, which pumps 70,000 GPM and operates in the Bar Channel. I am thankful for the Senator’s continued support with our ongoing dredging efforts in the Atchafalaya River.”
“We were happy to be able to share with Senator Cassidy the significant construction progress on the Bayou Chene Floodgate Project,” Matte said. “This project provides flood protection for the six-parish region including parts of St. Mary, St. Martin, Terrebonne, Assumption, Lafourche and Iberville parishes. This project is expected to provide flood protection by September 2021.”