JEFFERSON PARISH, La. — Excavators, bulldozers and a dredge miles away from them are working on a $100 million project to enlarge a Louisiana barrier island.
West Grand Terre Island once was a headquarters for Jean Lafitte's pirate band. It now is getting 2.5 million cubic yards of sand — nearly enough to fill the Empire State Building twice.
The plan also includes armoring a mile of shoreline with rocks weighing 2.5 tons to 6 tons apiece.
A half-dozen excavators were at work Wednesday. Four were moving rocks. Others were creating low lines of sand and dirt to guide the placement of sand that will eventually create beach, dunes, and marshes.
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