28 of the spillway's 350 bays will be opened Monday
Although much smaller than in 2008, a large crowd was on hand Monday morning as the Army Corps of Engineers began opening the Bonnet Carre Spillway on the Mississippi River in Norco.
At large crowd gathered to watch the Army Corps of Engineers open the Bonnet Carre Spillway in Norco, La., Monday, May 9, 2011.Armed with cameras, lawn chairs and coolers, some with babies and dogs, folks from throughout the area braved sparse parking and a hefty hike in humid conditions to watch the cranes pull the Spillway pins at 8 a.m.
By 9 a.m., roughly 10 of the bays had been opened, allowing thousands of gallons of muddy Mississippi water to pour into the Spillway. The Corps planned to open 28 of the spillway's 350 bays Monday.
Hunter Fontenot, 16, of Kenner and a few of his friends skipped school to come watch.
"(We came) to see something that really doesn't happen that often," Fontenot said.
But Fontenot's buddy, Justin Shamah, said it didn't quite live up to the hype.
"I was expecting more of a big gate, like a big wave of water washing through," he said. "Like a tidal wave."
In 2008, several local schools allowed their students to go onto the Spillway Guide levee to watch the opening. That was not the case this year. But students at Destrehan High School did watch the opening via a live stream in the Internet.
By 9:30, many of the crowd had seen enough and began packing up to go home.
And Justin Hymel of Norco and a couple of his friends were waiting for that. He said officials told them that, once the crowd dispersed, they would be able to use the fishing poles they brought along.
"We've got to wait until a lot of people clear out," they said.
Hymel said he came fishing when the Spillway opened in 2008, catching quite a bit of carp.
