NEW ORLEANS — The Department of Transportation and Development is deploying sandbags along flooded portions of the freeway in St. Martin and Assumption parishes.
The sandbags are being deployed along a stretch of the LA 70 in lower St. Martin Parish, DOTD officials said Friday.
The bags, called "sand sacks," are 100 feet long, and will shore up the edge of the roadway between mile markers 7.6 and 8.1, which is about two miles north of the LA 70/Stephensville Road intersection.
DOTD initially installed portable water-filled dams to hold back rising water from tributaries coming off the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers, but the wake of cars traveling through the high water pushed the dams out of place, rendering them ineffective, officials said.
Even as crews work to secure the area temporarily, DODT officials are planning to elevate portions of LA 70 permanently to minimize future flooding. That project has no official timeframe and funding has not been secured from the state legislature.
Additionally, DOTD announced Friday it will begin deploying approximately 6,000 feet of water-filled dams along LA 70 between LA 996 and LA 69 in Assumption Parish.
The dams are designed to manage rising water on the roadway and to keep the highway open for travel as long as possible. Aqua dams were used successfully on Airline Highway (U.S. 61) in Baton Rouge during the 2016 flood event. Installation of the dams is estimated to be a two to three-day operation.
The Assumption Parish Sheriff’s Office will be assisting with police presence during the installation in order to reduce traffic speeds through the work zone.
Motorists are encouraged to check the status of road conditions prior to beginning commutes to impacted areas by utilizing the following resources for the latest information regarding road conditions:
- MyDOTD: Motorists can receive automatic and up-to-date information on local projects, lane and road closures, and other DOTD activity by signing up for MyDOTD at www.dotd.la.gov.
- 511 Traveler Information: Travelers can also find information regarding road closures by visiting the 511 Traveler Information website at www.511la.org or by dialing 511 from their telephone and saying the route or region about which they are seeking information. Out-of-state travelers can access the system by calling 1-888-ROAD-511 (1-888-762-3511).
- Social media: Additional information can be found on DOTD’s Facebook and Twitter pages.