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Location
This project is located in Cameron Parish in extreme southwest Louisiana. The project area involves a 9-mile stretch of the Gulf of Mexico coast, starting on the western side of the Calcasieu Ship Channel’s gulf outlet and proceeding to approximately two miles west of Holly Beach.
Issue Addressed
The present shoreline is eroding at a rate of 5 to 30 feet per year and is threatening the coastal highway, the only remaining barrier between the Gulf of Mexico and a 40,000 acre marsh. Any breach of the roadway will increase salinity and introduce rapid tidal exchange that could convert the marsh into open water.
Project Goals
This project will keep the shoreline position at or seaward of the current position for 20 years and lessen the chance of losing the beachfront, the road, and the marshland ecosystem.
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- This image illustrates a typical cross-section of beach nourishment and a plan-view layout of preferred beach nourishment configuration.
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- This erosion now threatens Louisiana Highway 27/82, the major east-west corridor in the parish. The roadway also serves as a barrier protecting 40,000 acres of marsh from the Gulf.
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- The beachfront in Cameron Parish has been pounded by number of tropical storms and hurricanes in recent years, including hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Ike, and Gustav.
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- High-quality beach-grade sand will be cut from an offshore borrow area to produce approximately 525 acres of new beach along an 8.7 mile stretch of the Gulf shoreline.
Project Type:
Barrier Island/Headland Restoration
Project Information:
Project number: CS-33
Estimated Total Cost: $$45 million
Land Benefited: 523 acres