About $2 million in federal money will help repair storm-damaged levee in Terrebonne
The Courier
A nearly $2 million federal grant will help pay for repairs to a Terrebonne Parish levee that was overtopped during Hurricane Barry in 2019.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved the $1.99 million grant, U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said Friday.
The money will help cover repair costs for the Montegut levee, which was damaged during the storm in July 2019.
The money will reimburse the Terrebonne Levee District for 75% of the total $2.6 million in repair costs. Hurricane Barry eroded portions of Terrebonne Parish’s levee system, posing a serious threat,” Cassidy said in a news release. “This funding makes needed repairs to keep residents and businesses safe from flooding.”
A key part of the effort to control flooding in Terrebonne Parish began operation Thursday.
The Petit Caillou Lock Structure in Chauvin includes a 56-foot lock that allows boats to travel along Bayou Little Caillou even when the tide is abnormally high. And its floodgates can be closed during storms or strong Gulf of Mexico tides to prevent water from rushing in and flooding nearby homes and businesses.
The structure, near Boudreaux Canal, will also help prevent saltwater from the Gulf from killing vegetation in surrounding freshwater swamps and marshes.
Construction, which began in October 2018 and took 515 days to complete, is part of the long-running efforts to help control flooding in Terrebonne, Parish President Gordon Dove said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony hursday.
1. COVID-19 pandemic
The global coronavirus pandemic hit Terrebonne Parish in March, wreaking havoc on every facet of life. By year s end, the parish had recorded more than 5,900 COVID-19 infections and 148 deaths.
State orders aimed at curbing the virus s spread restricted business and social activity. Orders mandated face masks for anyone in public and encouraged residents to stay at least six feet away from others and wash their hands regularly. Schools offered a mix of online-only and in-person classes and limited class sizes on campus.
Houma-Thibodaux lost 5,800 jobs in April, the first full month of the state’s COVID stay-at-home order. Business closures and layoffs helped elevate the area’s unemployment rate to 12.3%, its highest since the late-1980s oil bust. The area regained most of those jobs by year s end, but the November total was still down 2,000 from a year earlier. Long lines became common at area food banks.