The Atchafalaya River Bar Channel should be properly dredged and open to vessel traffic by early 2019. Many people in the Tri-City area’s maritime industry have been awaiting that news for several years. The Morgan City Harbor and Terminal District Commission met Monday. Millions of dollars in additional funds to dredge waterways in the Port of Morgan City’s district potentially will ensure the channel is dredged to its congressionally authorized depth, said Tim Connell, Atchafalaya region manager for the U.S.Army Corps of  Engineers, during Monday’s meeting.  “This is definitely the most optimistic I’ve been since I’ve been involved,” Connell said.
Connell expects the Bar Channel could be fully open to vessel traffic by February 2019, he said. The optimal time to dredge will probably be starting in November. The river and Bar Channel are authorized to be 20 feet deep. However, sand accumulates in the river and fluid mud builds up in the Bar Channel that begins at the mouth of the river. So the waterways are routinely several feet shallower than the  authorized depth. The fluid mud, known as fluff, has especially caused problems for ships and other vessels and prevented many ships from traveling through the port, according to area officials. Brice Civil Constructors, which the Corps plans to hire to dredge the Bar Channel, should get an initial contract offering next week, Connell said. That contractor will be tasked with agitating or lowering the  density of the fluff, thus allowing ships to travel through it. “We believe and the sediment experts believe that this is the best method to deal with the material that’s in the Bar Channel,” he said. Doing a thorough job of dredging the Bar Channel should lessen the extent of future dredging required, Connell said. Officials learned at the start of May that the port will receive $20 million in supplemental  dredging funds through the Corps of Engineers to dredge the Atchafalaya River and Bar Channel. Another $8.1 million should fund  dredging of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Most of those funds will likely be spent in the Morgan City area, including dredging of  Berwick Bay, said Cindy Cutrera, the port’s economic development manager. That $28 million in funding should become available within about two weeks and can be used during a two-year period. This money came from a federal disaster relief package stemming from the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017. On top of the supplemental funds, port leaders learned in February that the Port of  Morgan City will receive about $12.7 million for the 2019 fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2018. That amount roughly doubles the annual   $6 million in funds the port had received the previous few years. Also during Monday’s meeting, the commission approved committing $20,000 of the port’s funds to go toward an economic development and diversification study for the Morgan City and Berwick areas. The Atchafalaya River Bar Channel should be properly dredged and open to vessel traffic by early 2019. Many people in the Tri-City area’s maritime industry have been awaiting that news for several years. The Morgan City Harbor and Terminal District Commission met Monday. Millions of dollars in additional funds to dredge waterways in the Port of Morgan City’s district potentially will ensure the channel is dredged to its congressionally authorized depth, said Tim Connell, Atchafalaya region manager for the U.S.Army Corps of  Engineers, during Monday’s meeting “This is definitely the most optimistic I’ve been since I’ve been involved,” Connell said. Connell expects the Bar Channel could be fully open to vessel traffic by February 2019, he said. The optimal time to dredge will probably be starting in November. The river and Bar Channel are authorized to be 20 feet deep. However, sand accumulates in the river and fluid mud builds up in the Bar Channel that begins at the mouth of the river. So the waterways are routinely several feet shallower than the  authorized depth. The fluid mud, known as fluff, has especially caused problems for ships and other vessels and prevented many ships from traveling through the port, according to area officials. Brice Civil Constructors, which the Corps plans to hire to dredge the Bar Channel, should get an initial contract offering next week, Connell said. That contractor will be tasked with agitating or lowering the  density of the fluff, thus allowing ships to travel through it. “We believe and the sediment experts believe that this is the best method to deal with the material that’s in the Bar Channel,” he said. Doing a thorough job of dredging the Bar Channel should lessen the extent of future dredging required, Connell said. Officials learned at the start of May that the port will receive $20 million in supplemental  dredging funds through the Corps of Engineers to dredge the Atchafalaya River and Bar Channel. Another $8.1 million should fund  dredging of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Most of those funds will likely be spent in the Morgan City area, including dredging of  Berwick Bay, said Cindy Cutrera, the port’s economic development manager. That $28 million in funding should become available within about two weeks and can be used during a two-year period. This money came from a federal disaster relief package stemming from the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017. On top of the supplemental funds, port leaders learned in February that the Port of  Morgan City will receive about $12.7 million for the 2019 fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2018. That amount roughly doubles the annual   $6 million in funds the port had received the previous few years. Also during Monday’s meeting, the commission approved committing $20,000 of the port’s funds to go toward an economic development and diversification study for the Morgan City and Berwick areas. 

An area group called St. Mary Excel is seeking financial support from different entities in the area to hire Urban Land Institute at a cost of $135,000 to do the study. The port’s resolution committing $20,000 is contingent upon St. Mary Excel receiving commitments from  the other entities to fund the rest of the study.  Hellenic Inc. and the St. Mary Parish Council have also committed to the study, said  Monica Mancuso, a member of St. Mary Excel. Organizers plan to ask for funds from the Morgan City and Berwick councils within the next few weeks,  Mancuso said. In other business, the port commission An area group called St. Mary Excel is seeking financial support from different entities in the area to hire Urban Land Institute at a cost of $135,000 to do the study. The port’s resolution committing $20,000 is contingent upon St. Mary Excel receiving commitments from  the other entities to fund the rest of the study.  Hellenic Inc. and the St. Mary Parish Council have also committed to the study, said  Monica Mancuso, a member of St. Mary Excel. Organizers plan to ask for funds from the Morgan City and Berwick councils within the next few weeks,  Mancuso said. In other business, the port commission


—Approved the purchase of homeland security equipment through a state contract.
—Approved an insurance renewal contract with Paul’s Agency.
—Approved a year extension to the port’s con- tract with Cassidy & Associates for assistance with dredging and sediment management issues.
—Approved an agreement for services with GIS Engineering.

Published by Daily Review 05/15/18