AMELIA, La. — A new floodgate, which is a large barge or gate, is currently under construction and will be installed in Bayou Chene near Amelia.
It’ll play a vital role in protecting areas that have been dealing with high water issues throughout the years.
We spoke to Sealevel Construction, the primary contractor of the project, who says that backwater flooding from the Atchafalaya River directly impacts places like Stephensville, Amelia, and surrounding areas when water levels get high.
That’s where the floodgate comes in: to cut off and prevent Atchafalaya backwater flooding and allow water to drain out through portions of Terrebonne Parish.
Now the size of the structure.. well it’s pretty massive.
"The overall dimensions of the floodgate is 446 feet long, it’s 80 foot wide and the barge itself is 29 feet high with a flood wall on one side of it," says Jacques Duplantis of Sealevel Construction.
Many who live in the flood risk area are extremely excited for the completion of the project, which is expected to happen between July and October of this year.
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