Congress passed the Flood Control Act of 1928 after the flood of 1927 devastated more than 27,000 square miles of land in the lower Mississippi Valley. The ambitious project to harness the Mississippi River authorized the Army Corps of Engineers to design several projects to prevent another catastrophe.
Included in that plan was the Bonnet Carre Spillway in St. Charles Parish, begun in 1928 and completed in 1931, near what was then the town of Good Hope. The site was chosen because it had been the spot of four previous levee breaks, or crevasses, and was considered to be a weak spot, “problematic” even, in the levee system.
A marvel of engineering even today, the spillway structure is a more than a mile and a half long-series of 350 bays, each with 20 wooden pins which naturally allow the rising waters of the river to trickle through. But when necessary, a crane lifts up each pin and places it horizontally on top of the structure, allowing the river to gush through and follow a natural 5.7-mile course to Lake Pontchartrain and relieve pressure on the levees downriver — including those protecting the city of New Orleans.
The spillway bays have been opened nine times since its completion, most recently on May 9, 2011. Its longest opening was in 1973 for 75 days.
The spillway, which encompasses more than 7,600 acres, has evolved into much more than a flood-protecting structure. Attracting more than 250,000 visitors per year, it’s a recreational hot spot for fishing, swimming, camping, riding horses and crabbing. It’s been used for baptisms, model airplane and rocket launching competitions, dog training and muddy monster runs.
— By Lori Lyons and Littice Bacon-Blood