Construction on a 13-mile pipeline that will deliver Mississippi
River sediment into the Barataria Basin to create coastal land
could start later this year. The long-distance sediment pipeline
project involves building a structure that goes over the
Mississippi River levee and crosses under La. 23 and a railroad,
which will stay in place. A contractor will then build a
pipeline that will head south and southwest from the river to
two project locations. “We’re going to take sand out of the
river and put it where it’s needed,” said Kenneth Bahlinger,
state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority project
manager. The pipeline will be put in place primarily over land
for a distance of about 13 miles from where a dredge in the
Mississippi River will take up sand from the river bed.
Approximately, 8.2 million cubic yards of material will be mined
from the river sediment and placed at the sites. Although there
are three borrow sites in the river that have been permitted,
it’s estimated that the projects will on