Bayou Chene closure complete

Closure of Bayou Chene in Amelia is complete about 10 days after officials made the closure decision to prevent additional backwater flooding in the region.

Water levels in the Stephensville area of lower St. Martin Parish are down roughly a half-foot from their recent peak levels. Authorities there were able to reopen Stephensville Road and Bayou Estates Subdivision to vehicle traffic, though other roads, including East Stephensville Road, Tower Tank Road, Four Mile Bayou Road, Landry Street, Adell Street and Edna Street, still remain closed to outside traffic.

“We’re just proceeding very cautiously and carefully,” St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars said. “It’s going to take a while to get back to normal, but we’re moving in that direction.”

Officials finished the closure of Bayou Chene Monday morning, so water is no longer flowing past the structure north toward Bayou Boeuf, said Tim Matte, executive director of the St. Mary Levee District. Work was still ongoing Monday afternoon at the project site with the placing of more rock around the temporary barge floodgate.

State leaders made the official decision May 24 to close Bayou Chene to stop more backwater flooding along the Atchafalaya River. That decision came after the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority committed to funding $7 million of work due to the projected operation of the Morganza Spillway, which will send more water to the Atchafalaya Basin.

The National Weather Service now predicts the Atchafalaya will crest near 9.5 feet June 19. That prediction includes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ anticipated opening of the Morganza Spillway that’s been delayed until June 9. The Corps plans for a slow opening of Morganza the first days before releasing more water into the Atchafalaya Basin for a projected maximum flow of 150,000 cubic feet per second.

On Saturday, authorities closed the pipeline canals along Tabor Canal in Terrebonne Parish to prevent flood waters from bypassing Bayou Chene. Also as of Saturday, officials had stopped all water flow that had been coming across the road on Avoca Island to the east of Bayou Chene to keep flood waters from bypassing the bayou, too, Matte said. Workers were continuing to place limestone on the road to prepare for higher water levels.

“The three main components of the job are coming to an end with a lot of continuing work,” Matte said.

Authorities will leave a crew in the area to monitor the Bayou Chene site as the Atchafalaya River rises.

Matte wouldn’t be surprised if the Atchafalaya drops slightly before it reaches the projected crest. Flow from the Arkansas River is still about a week away from reaching the Mississippi River, Matte said.

The Tri-City area may get to 1 to 2 inches of local rainfall next week from the tropical disturbance was sitting along Mexico’s east coast. But a drop in the water levels before that rain could help the area handle that additional rain, Matte said.

Now that much of the Bayou Chene temporary closure project is complete, levee district officials are again turning their attention to the $80 million permanent Bayou Chene floodgate project. The permanent structure will be located about 500 feet south of the temporary one.

That permanent structure is the “real solution to everybody’s concerns” instead of trying to determine when officials should install a temporary floodgate on Bayou Chene, Matte said. The first phase of the permanent project, which entails dredging in Bayou Chene , might be slightly delayed from its predicted start date early fall due to the temporary project.

But officials don’t expect any delays in the overall project timeline, as they hope to have an operational permanent floodgate by summer 2021. CPRA has also committed to funding that permanent project.