The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) and its federal partner, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), have awarded the construction contract for the Northwest Turtle Bay Marsh Creation Project in Jefferson Parish.
This $12.5 million project will create and nourish 791 acres of marsh in the Barataria Basin and will be built by Coastal Dredging Company, Inc. based out of Hammond, La.
The project lies south of the communities of Lafitte, Barataria, and Jean Lafitte which sit upon the Barataria Bay Waterway.
CPRA and USFWS are already exploring opportunities to utilize available funds to increase the amount of marsh to be created or nourished in the project vicinity.
“This project is an important part of restoring and fortifying the Barataria Landbridge, which is in danger of converting to open water and exposing the fragile marsh ecosystems south of New Orleans to greater negative influences,” said CPRA Executive Director Bren Haase .
“We look forward to starting this project soon and restoring this additional layer of protection for the northern Barataria Basin ecosystem and its communities.”
The Northwest Turtle Bay project will create 484 acres of marsh in what is now open water and will nourish an existing 307 acres of degraded marsh.
Construction is expected to begin in April and is estimated to be completed in summer 2020.