By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

NORCO – St. Charles Parish work crews spent most of Sunday and Monday installing a makeshift levee along the eastbound shoulder of Airline Highway to keep the rising water from the Mississippi River off the major thoroughfare.

Parish spokesperson Renee Simpson said Monday that the roughly 2-foot levee was built at the request of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a precaution and was planned during preparations to open the Bonnet Carre Spillway earlier this month.

Work over the weekend and on Monday forced the closure of the right eastbound lane of Airline Highway near the bridge over the spillway in St. Charles Parish. The road has reopened, but traffic cones and barrels are preventing anyone from stopping on the shoulder near the levee.

Simpson said the water coming through the spillway tends to pool up in the corner near the bridge because of a lack of flow in that area. There is presently no water near the road and no threat of the road being topped.

Meanwhile, corps officials said Monday that the height and pressure of the river is causing the water to flow through the spillway at a higher rate than expected.

Spillway Project Manager Chris Brantley said Monday that with 330 of the 350 bays open, about 316,000 cubic feet of water per second is passing through the structure.

He said the spillway is designed to divert water at a rate of 250,000 cfs when all bays are open. The corps could still open the remaining 20 bays.

As a point of reference, each cubic foot of water contains 7.48 gallons. This means that more than 1.1 billion gallons of water per hour is moving through the 7,600-acre spillway and into Lake Pontchartrain.

The extreme flow of water, which has flooded out various recreational facilities within the spillway, has attracted the eye of drivers along Airline looking to catch a glimpse or picture of the rising water. Simpson said the parish has posted signs along Airline to warn motorists not to park on the shoulder and anyone who does stop will be told to keep moving by St. Charles Sheriff’s deputies patrolling the area.

The corps has advised any residents who wish to safely view the operation of the spillway to come by the operations office at 16302 River Road in Norco. There is also a viewing area on the upstream side of the spillway at the foot of Louisiana Highway 628 and C.C. Road across from Montz Park.