PLAQUEMINES PARISH, La. — Water flowing through a gap in a floodwall project near West Point a la Hache was plugged by contractors Saturday afternoon, a few hours after cameras caught the water surging through the opening and threatening Highway 23.
Highway 23 runs north/south the length of the parish and if it became impassable, would cut off one half from the other.
According to Councilman Carlton LaFrance, the gap in the concrete wall was a known issue and it had been filled with HESCO baskets in advance of Barry, but the pressure and height of the water flowing toward them, knocked them over, allowing the water to pour through.
“As you can see, it wasn’t enough, because of the pressure and height of the water,” he said.
LaFrance said the plug was made by the contractor with large river rocks and 2,000 bags of sand.
LaFrance said residents on the other side of Highway 23 were notified and those that were there, left.
The project is actually a designed siphon that sends Mississippi water to the back levee bayou area. The gap existed because the project was not completed.