NEW ORLEANS -- Due to the extended high Mississippi River, Destrehan Avenue in Harvey, La., will remain closed to traffic until the end of August 2025 while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continues construction of the floodwall it began building in December 2024. The public will be able to take 4th Street to Barataria Boulevard to reach River Road.
Work hours on the floodwall are from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., with weekend and holiday work permitted. Public safety is our top priority, and we will work closely with our non-Federal Sponsors, West Jefferson Levee District and Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority - West, throughout the construction process.
USACE awarded the $3.7 million construction contract in September 2024, and this contract includes construction of a floodwall intended to provide flood-risk reduction to Jefferson Parish, La. The existing elevation of this levee will be raised 3 feet by placing a pile founded concrete T-wall from south of Riverfront Park to near the Harvey Lock as part of the overall Mississippi River Levees construction project.
This MRL construction project is a part of the larger Mississippi River and Tributaries project. The system is intended to provide flood-risk reduction to the vast expanse of the developed alluvial valley from periodic overflows of the Mississippi River. The mainstem levee system begins at the head of the alluvial valley at Cape Girardeau, Mo., and continues to Venice, La., approximately 10 miles above Head of Passes near the Gulf of America.
Please call the Construction Impact Hotline number for any construction-related questions: (877) 427-0345.
Release no. 25-016