There was good news from Nucor Corporation concerning St. James Parish this week, but it paled in comparison to what the company was promising less than two years ago.

Nucor Corporation announced Wednesday its direct reduced iron plant in Convent will resume operations by the end of the month.

The plant temporarily suspended production at the end of 2015 for planned maintenance. At that time, the company also halted production based on market conditions, which surely worried the 170 employees.

Thankfully, production will resume.

However, it was March 3, 2014, when Gov. Bobby Jindal said, “Today marks an extraordinary milestone for Nucor, Louisiana, St. James Parish and every resident of our state as we celebrate a tremendous achievement. Nucor has built a successful first phase in this ambitious, world-scale project and is producing direct-reduced iron for its mills at a higher level of efficiency than anyone has ever achieved.”

Jindal was forecasting a plan that included four additional phases that would jump Nucor’s total River Region investment to $3.4 billion with a total direct job total of 1,250.

Better yet, the average annual salary was estimated by company and state leaders as more than $75,000, plus benefits.

More than 500 construction jobs were to be created during the first phase, and estimates are that all five phases would result in 4,800 new indirect jobs.

The deal came with the caveat of the company informing Louisiana officials of its intent to complete the remaining four phases by the end of 2015.

They never did.

The state is no longer obligated to provide the remaining grants and tax breaks previously agreed to, and plans for new construction seem tenuous at best.

It was certainly welcomed news this week when Nucor announced January production was coming; unfortunately, the company’s silence as 2015 ticked away threw a bucket of cold water on the enthusiasm and promise of the thousands of new jobs spoke so highly of less than two years ago.