Right of way project shores up coastline
Published 10:24 am Sunday, December 16, 2018
By Ken Stickney
SABINE PASS — A $19.5 million project to protect Highway 87 right of way may also slow or halt erosion along a stretch of the Intracoastal Waterway in Jefferson Parish.
Sarah Dupre, public information director for the Texas Department of Transportation’s office in Beaumont, said erosion is always a concern along the waterway because of storms and large ship traffic moving past. In some cases, erosion has caused significant right of way deterioration and has caused debris to spill onto the highway.
“We are trying to reestablish that shoreline. There has been a significant issue with water and dirt and rocks washing into the roadway,” she said.
That problem was exacerbated with Hurricane and Tropical Storm Harvey flooding in August and September 2017, and TxDOT moved quickly to effect emergency construction along a three-mile stretch on Highway 87 from Sabine Pass.
“The storm just did a number on that shoreline,” she said.
In fact, she said, road debris caused by the erosion presented concerns for traffic safety, especially for bus and vehicle traffic going to and from Sabine Pass School.
“The problem is the erosion,” said Sabine Pass ISD Superintendent Kristi Heid. “It’s occurring faster than TxDOT or Port Arthur can keep up with.”
She said TxDOT and the school system have kept in close contact about the erosion and current construction to address the problem.
Dupre said TxDOT awarded the contract to Gulf Coast early in 2018 after environmental studies were completed and the Army Corps of Engineers OK’d the project. Environmental studies are always necessary with large waterway projects, she said.
Initially, sandbags were put in place to slow the erosion but construction began in recent months.
“We are not responsible for waterways,” Dupre said, although the project will strengthen the waterway. “We are reestablishing our right of way.”
Essentially, Dupre said, Gulf Coast will install sheeting piling along the water’s edge and fill in with rocks and dirt from the water to the roadway. She said TxDOT has tried that tack elsewhere along the waterway to remedy erosion and it has worked well to protect the shoreline and right of way.
She said the project completion should come by the end of 2019.
“We want to make sure Highway 87 drivers remain safe,” she said. “We are always looking at how we can improve.”
