The Calcasieu Parish Police Jury is nearing completion of a $2 million project to create a 4,500-foot rock dike to protect against erosion along the north side of the Intracoastal Waterway.

The project, about three miles west of La. 27, will reportedly protect 500 acres of marshland and 25 acres of open water.

The project is federally funded, with more than one-third of the costs just being the rock itself. The project started April 1 and is expected to be completed Sunday.

Without the barrier — which is 30-40 feet wide and rises 3 feet above the mean average tide — the land will continue to erode and become a big lake, said Nathan Dondis, business development manager for contractor B&J Inc.

He said the project will help create an ecosystem and protect against storm surges and flooding.

The rocks — chunks of Kentucky limestone — are moved from barges and placed atop a fabric laid along the waterway’s bottom. The fabric will keep the rocks from sinking in the mud.

The Clear Marais wetlands are a nursery for fish and a habitat for migratory waterfowl and other birds.

“This is a long waterway, and it’s continuing to have saltwater intrusion into our marshes,” said Dennis Scott, police juror for District 6. “The more of these projects along the waterway the more significant the land will recover.”

(American Press Archives)