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Project Photos: click on image to enlarge.


Area of Restoration.	View of the West Bay Sediment Diversion project site in summer 2003 prior to the start of construction. The photo was shot towards the west with the Mississippi River on the lower edge and West Bay on the top of the frame. Note the greenish-blue coloration of the river water indicative of less sediment in the water column during a period of low flow in the river.

Photo shows the hydraulic dredge California digging the West Bay Sediment Diversion Channel during October 2003. The view is towards the southwest with the Mississippi River in the foreground and the shallow waters of West Bay in the background. The dredge is working to dig a 440-foot wide, -25-foot deep channel through the natural river bank. Material dug from the river bank is being pumped through a floating pipeline connected at the rear of the dredge vessel (middle and left side of photo). The sand is being pumped into a beneficial use marsh creation site in West Bay (upper left quarter of photo) to create more than 200 acres of new wetlands.	Photo shows dredge digging through the bank of the Mississippi River during construction of the West Bay Sediment Diversion project. Note the ocean-going ship passing nearby in the main navigation channel of the river outbound to a foreign port. All of the sand mined from the riverbank during construction of the new channel was utilized for wetlands creation.

Dredged material from the construction of the West Bay Diversion channel is shown being pumped to create new wetlands near the mouth of the Mississippi River.	View of West Bay Sediment Diversion following the completion of construction work in December 2003. Photo is looking westward with the Mississippi River in the foreground and West Bay in the background. Note the brown coloration of the river water indicative of sediment carried down river during an early winter rise in water levels from runoff.

Photograph of the West Bay Sediment Diversion project under construction in Louisiana during Fall 2003. This photo shows the interrelationship of commercial navigation and coastal habitat restoration in Louisiana. The view northward includes the Mississippi River (right), the West Bay (left), dredging equipment working to construct the new diversion channel (center), and the community of Venice, Louisiana (top). The Mississippi River navigation channel connects the world’s largest port complex to the American farm belt and export destinations worldwide. The community of Venice is a strategically important energy production hub and home to one of the largest commercial fishery fleets in the nation. Through the West Bay project the river is being reconnected to adjacent estuaries to aid in the restoration of important coastal wetland habitats in Louisiana.	Photo shows the hydraulic dredge California digging the West Bay Sediment Diversion Channel during October 2003. The view is towards the southwest with the Mississippi River in the foreground and the shallow waters of West Bay in the background. The dredge is working to dig a 440-foot wide, -25-foot deep channel through the natural river bank. Material dug from the river bank is being pumped through a floating pipeline connected at the rear of the dredge vessel (middle and left side of photo). The sand is being pumped into a beneficial use marsh creation site in West Bay (upper left quarter of photo) to create more than 200 acres of new wetlands.

Dredge digging diversion channel.	Dredged material being pumped into marsh creation area.

End of the pipe.	Dredged material being pumped into marsh creation area.

End of the pipe, ship in background.	Close-up aerial view of the West Bay Sediment Diversion channel under construction in southeast Louisiana.

Dredge California	Dredge digging diversion channel.

Contact:
Gregory B. Miller, CEMVN-PM-C
504-862-2310
Gregory.B.Miller@usace.army.mil

Page last updated: April 21, 2004