After over five years of planning, a project intended protect up to six parishes from flooding is scheduled to start its first phase of construction late by September 2019. St. Mary Levee District commissioners authorized the board last week to proceed with design of the Bayou Chene Flood Control and Diversion Project at a cost of slightly over $4.8 million, Levee District Executive Director Tim Matte said. APTIM Environmental & Infrastructure Inc. is managing the Bayou Chene project. That project entails installing a permanent, 400-foot-wide floodgate on Bayou Chene in Amelia that can be closed to prevent backwater flooding in ...