BAYOU PETIT CAILLOU BARGE GATE

Cocodrie, Louisiana

Massman performed this project for the Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District. The project involved the construction and installation of a reinforced sheet pile floodwall which ties into the existing levee system, underwater support structure, and a cut-off wall. Massman built the flood control structure across a navigable waterway leaving a 110-foot opening for the local shrimp boats and other marine traffic to pass. The navigable waterway opening can be closed with a steel ‘barge gate’ to prevent storm waters from flooding areas north of the Gulf of Mexico in the event a tropical storm or hurricane occurs. When closed, the structure provides protection from floodwater up to an elevation of +18 feet with the normal ground elevation averaging +3 to +4 feet. This flood control structure, along with the newly constructed earthen levees, provides protection for Category 1 and 2 hurricane storm events. A special feature of this barge gate compared to other similar projects in the area is the addition of flow-through culverts and flap valves. These culverts will allow the flood water on the protected side of the levee to pass through four valves on the non-protected side to minimize the inland flooding waters.