Two piers will have slips for about 30 commercial fishing boats and 40 recreational boats
It's been a long wait for the Bucktown fishing fleet, five years for sure and five decades by some estimates, but now construction is finally imminent on a new harbor in East Jefferson's primary outpost of maritime heritage.
Fisherman Larry Spahn walks down the floating dock Tuesday at the site of the new Bucktown marina.Talk of building a Bucktown harbor for commercial and recreational fishing began in the 1960s. Bits of it have been completed, such as dredging the bottom of Lake Pontchartrain to accommodate boat traffic and building a claw of land to shelter the boats, but few docks or other facilities were ever added.
Then Hurricane Katrina ejected the century-old commercial fishing fleet from its nearby base in the mouth of the 17th Street Canal, which the Army Corps of Engineers proceeded to jam with new flood gates and pumps. That set off a campaign to find the fleet a permanent home and led back to the old plans and a harbor where the Coast Guard Station was the only significant new development.
"It's much better to do something with that beautiful piece of land than just let it sit there," said Woody Crews, chairman of a board that advises the Jefferson Parish Council on Bucktown marina issues. "I'm just glad to see the lakefront used in Jefferson Parish for recreational purposes."
Parish officials scheduled a 9:30 a.m. ground-breaking ceremony today for the $3.3 million project to build two piers with slips for about 30 commercial fishing boats and 40 recreational boats and the accompanying roads, parking, lighting, landscaping, drainage, water hookups, electrical service and sewer service. The work, conducted by Advance Quality Construction, Inc., could be finished in July.
The project is financed by Jefferson Parish government together with hurricane rebuilding money from the Louisiana Recovery Authority.
"This will help bring the charm and the character back," to Bucktown, strengthening the connection between the lake and the still-thriving array of seafood restaurants and markets in the neighborhood, said Russell Boudreaux, a spokesman for the fishing fleet. "We're moving in the right direction. It took a long time, but it's finally coming to fruition."
After Katrina, the fleet perched for a time at the Bonnabel Boat Launch. Then improvements to that Metairie recreational hub displaced it again, and the 20 to 30 boats returned to Bucktown using temporary floating docks that are precarious to walk on as they bob in the water.
Of course the oil spill disrupted the fishers' lives again this year, though some of them got cleanup and response jobs with BP, Boudreaux said. Like everyone else in the industry, they're now waiting to see the long-term effects of the voluminous undersea oil gusher on the shrimp and crab populations.
The new piers, however, will give them a steady, proper home. And the addition of space for recreational fishers will add bustle and vitality to the harbor, Boudreaux said.
"It's going to be basic, no frills, just a place to moor the boats," he said. "The fishermen are very grateful."
Mark Schexnayder, a state coastal scientist who has helped shepherd the project in recent years and serves on the Jefferson Bucktown advisory board, said the harbor will provide a place where residents of the most populated parts of the New Orleans metropolitan area, who live miles from where most commercial fishing is based, can see working boats and connect to the region's fishing and seafood culture.
He said the new facility will also offer the option of expansion.
"The footprint's there for it," he said. "The infrastructure's there for it to be able to expand.
With that foundation in place, the harbor could grow to six piers with 254 boats. Future expansions also could include picnic shelters, a building for a harbor master, a fishing pier, walking paths and a shore overlook, although officials have yet to secure money for those attraction
"Those floating piers out there are temporary," Schexnayder said. "These are state-of-the-art, designed for 100-year storm conditions. This is very sturdy, solid."
"You've got to start some place, and we're going to build out from there."
Mark Waller can be reached at mwaller@timespicayune.com or 504.883.7056.