Bollinger delivers flood gate for Bayou Teche project

Bollinger Shipyards LLC on Monday delivered the Bayou Teche flood gate to St. Mary Parish Levee District.
The steel flood gate, measuring 84 feet long, 40 feert wide and 19 feet high, is designed for a 25-year rain event and to provide flood risk reduction for a 10-foot storm surge.
The Bollinger-built gate is the heart of the Bayou Teche Flood Control Structure project announced in January of this year.
“Bollinger is proud to play a role in helping to protect the homes, businesses and communities along Bayou Teche,” said Ben Bordelon, president and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards. “After what has been a particularly tough 2020 storm season for south Louisiana, it’s important to get projects like this completed before next season so folks can have peace of mind.”
The Bayou Teche Flood Control Structure is designed to reduce the risk of heavy rain event and hurricane storm surge flooding when water comes through the Charenton Canal into Bayou Teche.
It is located where the Charenton Canal meets Bayou Teche and will consist of a levee section from the northward high ground across the old Bayou Teche through Victory Island and across to the east side of the Bayou Teche.
The structure will protect an area containing 6,500 properties and the 13,500 people that reside there.
The Bayou Teche Flood Control Structure is the first of two projects Bollinger is contracted to build for the St. Mary Parish Levee District and the fifth overall flood control structure built by Bollinger Shipyards.
“I’m proud of our team at Bollinger Shipyards’ Amelia facility,"Bordelon said. "With six named hurricanes impacting the Gulf region and the COVID-19 global pandemic, they remained steady and were able to safely deliver a high-quality product despite facing some serious adversity. I’m also thankful for our partnership with Sealevel Construction and St. Mary Parish Levee District.”
The project is being funded partially by a grant from the Louisiana Department of Transportation “Louisiana State Wide Flood Control Program” and the St. Mary Parish Levee District.
Bollinger Shipyards LLC (www.bollingershipyards.com) is a designer and builder of high performance military patrol boats, ocean-going double hull barges, offshore oil field support vessels, tugboats, rigs, lift boats, inland waterways push boats, barges, and other steel and aluminum products from its new construction shipyards as part of the U. S. industrial base.
Bollinger has 10 shipyards, all strategically located throughout Louisiana.