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Port Fourchon/LA 1DHS Report Released - Tuesday, December 06, 2011
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On December 6, 2011, the U.S. DHS released a report entitled, Louisiana Highway 1/Port Fourchon Study, concluding that a 90-day closure of 7.1 miles along the existing at-grade LA Highway 1 and a 90-day closure of Port Fourchon as a result of this loss of highway access could result in a reduction of up to $7.8 billion in American gross domestic product. Domestic oil and gas production would also be significantly impacted for a period of ten years following such a closure.
To view the report, please click the view document page above.
La. Highway 1 threads its way through the coastal marsh toward the
Gulf of Mexico. It is one of the United States’ most valuable — and
vulnerable —assets. Researchers at the University of Louisiana at
Lafayette are working to help protect it.
The
road is the only land route to Port Fourchon, which supports 16
percent of the nation’s energy production. It is also the sole
evacuation route for about 35,000 people, including offshore workers and
coastal residents.
The highway floods
regularly. Since 2005, when Hurricane Katrina struck, it has been
overtopped and closed to traffic numerous times.
Some improvements have been made. A $161 million toll bridge,
about seven miles north of the port, opened in 2009. And a $143 million,
6.8-mile section of elevated highway is expected to open this
month.
But business and government leaders in
Lafourche Parish, where the port is located, say that’s not
enough. They’re seeking a total of $1.5 billion to improve 60
miles of highway; the project would include about 19 miles of
elevated roads.
Officials with the U.S. Department
of Homeland Security turned to experts at the University of
Louisiana at Lafayette to help quantify the potential economic
loss that flooding could cause. Researchers with UL Lafayette’s
National Incident Management Systems and Advanced Technologies
Institute collaborated with the National Infrastructure Simulation
and Analysis Center within the Department of Homeland Security.
NIMSAT researchers analyzed historical data to predict what
would happen if the port were shut down for 90 days because of highway
flooding. Researchers considered two possible scenarios: the
roadway being washed out by a strong storm and the highway
becoming gradually submerged by rising sea levels.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security released the results
of the study last week. Damage to the highway would shut down the port,
which could result in a reduction of up to $7.8 billion in
economic losses.
" Loss of access to Port
Fourchon would have a significant impact not only Louisiana’s
economy, but on the national economy,” said Dr. Ramesh Kolluru,
director of the NIMSAT and vice president for Research at UL
Lafayette.
"Through this unique partnership, we have
been able to develop an analytically robust and objective
analysis of the importance of LA-1 and Port Fourchon to the
nation. We believe the study provides the ammunition that
our elected officials need to make the definitive business case
for investments into LA-1.”
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