CPRA reports 109 active projects, highlights LaBranche shoreline, Grand Bayou marsh creation and Bayou Lafourche pump upgrades

Glenn Lade, executive director of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, told the board on Feb. 19 that CPRA currently has 109 active projects across the coast, with 37 in construction and 68 in engineering and design.

Lade said construction began in January on the LaBranche Shoreline Protection Project in St. Charles Parish, funded with surplus dollars and budgeted at approximately $25,000,000, and on the Grand Bayou Ridge and Marsh Creation Restoration Project in Plaquemines Parish, led by Wicks Marine and estimated at $62,400,000. “We’re back up to 109 active projects,” Lade said during the implementation update.

Why it matters: CPRA’s active project portfolio and near-term advertising of construction bids indicate substantial ongoing work on shoreline protection, marsh creation and hurricane protection across Coastal Louisiana. Several of the listed projects are intended to protect populated corridors and working fisheries and to create or…