Dredging and construction company Weeks Marine is in the process of restoring a portion of Louisiana's eroding coastline in a $70 million land-building project. The company is moving 3.3 million cu-yds of sediment to create 300 acres of beach and dunes along a six-mile stretch of coastline in Lafourche Parish.
Weeks Marine Project Manager Gary Johnson says the company is using a 40-in hydraulic dredge to mine sand at a location twenty miles offshore. The sand is then pumped onto 300-ft long barges capable of carrying 22,000 cu-yds of material to unloading locations on shore.