Emergency center near completion
Above, a flag pole gets installed this morning at the Port of Morgan City’s
Government Emergency and Operations Center on La. 182 in Morgan City.
Port of Morgan City Executive Director Raymond “Mac” Wade
walks Thursday on the first floor of the port’s new center. The
cubicles shown are set up for U.S. Coast Guard personnel.
Government Emergency and Operations Center on La. 182 in Morgan City.
Port of Morgan City Executive Director Raymond “Mac” Wade
walks Thursday on the first floor of the port’s new center. The
cubicles shown are set up for U.S. Coast Guard personnel.
In one year, the Port of Morgan City’s $11 million Emergency Operations Center has gone from the planning stages to nearly finishing construction on a one-of-a kind facility for south Louisiana. The two-story, 35,000-square-foot building is expected to house U.S. Coast Guard operations on a daily basis and will serve as an emergency command center during events, such as hurricanes. Officials broke ground for construction of the center Dec. 2, 2014. The Category 5 hurricane resistant center is located on La. 182 in Morgan City, adjacent to the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium. Work is 99 percent complete on the first floor, while the second floor is 90 to 95 percent done, port officials said. Elevators have been installed in the building. Port of Morgan City Executive Director Raymond “Mac” Wade said in June that once the center opens, there will be no facility in Louisiana that can rival it in terms of is sturdiness. Wade called it a “state-of-the-art” facility. The center is being paid for by $7.1 million in state money and $3.9 million in Port of Morgan City funds. State officials track all money spent on the center extraordinarily closely, architect Carl Blum said. “Anybody who tells you the state is foolishly spending money has never dealt with the state,” Blum said. “They watch every dime (spent).”
Clearing the way for shipping
Manson Construction Co. began dredging Berwick Bay Sept. 19 and will finish the project in
about a month. The contract dredged about a 3-mile stretch from 20 Grand Point and
Tidewater Point to Stouts Pass. Dredging should start in the Atchafalaya River Bar Channel
Oct. 29 and could last up to 100 days.
about a month. The contract dredged about a 3-mile stretch from 20 Grand Point and
Tidewater Point to Stouts Pass. Dredging should start in the Atchafalaya River Bar Channel
Oct. 29 and could last up to 100 days.
BY ZACHARY FITZGERALD
Dredging work is ongoing in Berwick Bay and set to begin in the Atchafalaya River Bar Channel by the end of October in an effort to keep the area’s waterways deep enough for vessels to navigate. Workers began routine maintenance dredging of Berwick Bay in the Atchafalaya River Sept. 19 as part of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contract and will probably finish in about another month, Port of Morgan City Executive Director Raymond “Mac” Wade said. The work cost roughly $2.5 million to dredge a 3-mile stretch, which entailed going from Tidewater Point and 20 Grand Point, under the U.S. 90 and La. 182 bridges, and north to Stouts Pass, Wade said. Berwick Bay is being dredged to about 12 feet deep along the edges of the Morgan City side of the bay. However, the middle of the bay doesn’t need to be dredged and is 45 feet to 60 feet deep. The Berwick side of the bay also doesn’t have any depth issues, Wade said. There haven’t been any vessel traffic issues reported due to the dredge being in use, said Coast Guard Capt. David McClellan, commanding officer of Marine Safety Unit Morgan City.
Bayouland radio amateurs
Mac Wade, director of the Port of Morgan City, was the August guest of the Bayouland Emergency Amateur Radio Service. He presented an in-depth assessment of the port's responsibilities and long-range goals. Of particular interest was an update on the new emergency center that is nearing completion and the role that communication will play in this new building. Another meeting with the BEARS and other interested citizens will be held at the port office so the members can view a power point presentation and view the various maps to become more aware of the role the port and the Atchafalaya play in everyday life in Morgan City.
Published by Daily Review 09/17/15
Published by Daily Review 09/17/15
Meetings focus on coastal projects
Port of Morgan City Executive Director Raymond “Mac” Wade speaks during the Louisiana Coastal
Protection and Restoration Authority Board meeting held Wednesday at the Morgan City Municipal
Auditorium. Wade requested that the port’s dredging projects be included in the state’s coastal
master plan citing the potential beneficial use of dredge material to restore the coast. At right
is Port of Morgan City dredging consultant Ansel Taylor.
Protection and Restoration Authority Board meeting held Wednesday at the Morgan City Municipal
Auditorium. Wade requested that the port’s dredging projects be included in the state’s coastal
master plan citing the potential beneficial use of dredge material to restore the coast. At right
is Port of Morgan City dredging consultant Ansel Taylor.
BY ZACHARY FITZGERALD
Port of Morgan City leaders made their case Wednesday to include the dredging of the Atchafalaya River and surrounding waterways in the state’s coastal restoration master plan, saying that the fertile soil dredged out of the waterways could be used to rebuild coastal communities in dire need of material to create land. The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board held its regular monthly meeting Wednesday at the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium as part of its annual road show bringing meetings to different coastal Louisiana communities.
Port center to open in mid-October
Architect Carl Blum, left, speaks to Morgan City Harbor and Terminal District commissioners
Joseph Cain, Scott Melancon and Gary Duhon during a tour of the Port of Morgan City’s Government
Emergency and Operations Center Monday. The center is scheduled to be substantially complete by
mid-October.
BY ZACHARY FITZGERALD
Some minor issues have pushed back the projected completion date of the Port of Morgan City’s $11 million Government Emergency and Operations Center by about two weeks to mid-October. Despite delays, work is nearly two-thirds finished on the center, which will house governmental tenants on a daily basis and serve as a command center during emergencies. It is located on La. 182 adjacent to the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium. A groundbreaking to begin construction of the center was held in December 2014. The 35,000-square-foot, Category 5 hurricane-resistant center is being paid for by $7.1 million in state capital outlay money and $3.9 million in Port of Morgan City funds.
