Federal, state government pledge $250 million to deepen Houma Navigational Canal
State, local and federal entities have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to deepen the Houma Navigational Canal, an economic artery for Terrebonne Parish.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, and the Port of Terrebonne are collectively spending $253,458,000 to deepen the 36.7 miles of the Houma Navigational Canal roughly 5 feet: from -15 to -20. To do this, local entities also must relocate infrastructure that runs below the canal. Parish President Gordy Dove said this is a tremendous boon to the parish's economy, allowing larger vessels in and out of the city of Houma.
"The Houma Navigational Canal is the economic engine for Terrebonne Parish," he said. "There's thousands of jobs that work off it. Remember you have Bollinger Shipyards, Gulf Island Shipyards, Edison Chouest Offshore, Crosby Tugs, Chet Morrison Contractors, Thoma-sea, Canal Barge, Dolphin Services, recycling companies, scrap yards, and that's not counting the oil and gas."
Recently many shipbuilders have received contracts for large ship construction projects in Terrebonne.
"The military has a big presence in Terrebonne Parish," Dove said.
The canal has to be deepened two to three feet roughly every year to two years depending on storms, Dove said. This is because of sediment build up that's deposited by the waterflow.
The parish government and the Port of Terrebonne will relocate the infrastructure. Dove said the parish will move pipelines, which must be 20 feet below the canal. He said in total, there are 37 pipelines, but not all must be lowered. Most are being lowered to about 40 feet below.
The cost-sharing agreement does not mean the project has begun, Dove said, but it is important because it gives them the go-ahead to begin relocating the infrastructure. The actual dredging is likely two years away, and the dredging itself will take another year-and-a-half.
"Normally, when we do a $25 million dredging deal it takes three months to four months," he said. "And this is 35 miles of channel... from the Intracoastal in Houma down to the Cat Island Pass which is the Gulf."
The efforts to deepen the Houma Navigational Canal have been long pushed for, and Terrebonne Port Commission Executive Director David Rabalais said this is a major win for the parish's future.
“The HNC is the catalyst to Terrebonne’s economy. The port has been working on getting the channel deepened by 5 feet for over 20 years," he said. "The execution of this cost share agreement between the Corps and DOTD brings us another step closer to a deeper channel and sustaining Terrebonne’s economic growth for the next generation."
This article originally appeared on The Courier: Agencies pledge over $250 million to deepen Houma Navigational Canal
