Groundbreaking Held For Lock Complex
While breaking ground August 7 on the second phase of the Houma Navigation Canal (HNC) Lock Complex in Dulac, La., officials said it will be a key part of the Morganza to the Gulf Hurricane Protection system and will offer both ecological protection and economic benefits.
“Coordination by state and federal agencies and elected officials at every level got us where we are today, breaking ground on the second phase of the HNC Lock Complex project to offer further protection to the residents of Terrebonne Parish,” Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said. “I want to express my gratitude to everyone from Terrebonne, CPRA, the Corps and our state and federal legislators for acknowledging that the communities, cultures and businesses thriving in south Louisiana are invaluable and must be continuously protected.”
The HNC Lock Complex is a large-scale navigation, flood protection and hydrologic restoration project that will help limit saltwater intrusion and distribute freshwater within the Terrebonne Basin, allowing for the maintenance of thousands of acres of wetlands, according to a news release from the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA). Once completed, the HNC Lock Complex will span 110 feet across and 800 feet in length with sector gates on either side, directly adjacent to the existing 250-foot-wide Bubba Dove barge floodgate.
The two components will be tied together by a braced floodwall across the channel and work in concert to allow larger vessels to pass through the canal. The HNC Lock Complex will also close one of the few remaining gaps of the Morganza to the Gulf hurricane protection system, which uses a variety of features such as levees, floodgates, and locks to protect approximately 200,000 residents and nearly 2,000 square miles of land in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes from potentially deadly storm surge.
“Today’s groundbreaking brings us one step closer to completing the Morganza to the Gulf system and enhancing the protection against hurricanes and other major storms for the residents of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes,” CPRA Chairman Gordon “Gordy” Dove said. “In addition to providing greater protection to the people in the region, the completion of the HNC Lock Complex will also enable us to restore the area’s ecosystem by introducing fresh water to rejuvenate the degraded waterways.”
This phase of the project includes construction of inland and Gulf-side sector gates as well as the lock chamber to complete the HNC Lock Complex. Phase 2 of the project also includes the completion of the operations area, the control building, the 175-foot control building access bridge, as well as hydraulically dredging approximately 135,000 cubic yards of material from the HNC to reestablish 15 acres of brackish marsh habitat.
The project is funded through a grant administered by the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (RESTORE Council) using funds from the Spill Impact Component of the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act).
