CLOSING A HURRICANE HIGHWAY -  THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER GULF OUTLET

Hurricane Katrina devastated the lives of hundreds of thousands of Gulf Coast residents. But the storm did not act alone. The destruction was intensified by a number of failed projects developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), including the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO).  The MRGO is an obscure seldom-used navigation channel built as a shortcut linking the Gulf of Mexico to the Port of New Orleans

Yet, the MRGO also became a “Hurricane Highway” sending a 25-foot high wall of water speeding into New Orleans, destroying the levees in its path and overwhelming St. Bernard Parish and the Lower Ninth Ward.  The MRGO also destroyed well over 20,000 acres of coast wetlands that could have reduced Katrina’s storm surge and spared lives.

For years, local advocates and hurricane experts had pleaded with the Corps to close this little used and destructive navigation channel, arguing that the MRGO would amplify and concentrate storm surges into the city. Tragically, these calls were ignored, and the Corps continued to pour tens of millions of dollars into keeping the MRGO open, forcing federal taxpayers to subsidize travel on the MRGO at a cost of $12,600 per vessel per day. In just the past 20 years, taxpayers have spent more than $320 million to maintain the MRGO.

VICTORY!

After 50 years of destroying critical coastal wetlands and threatening communities of Southeast Louisiana, the writing is finally on the wall for the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet.  Due to the efforts of the “Mr. Go Must Go” Coalition, including the GRN, Louisiana’s senators spearheaded an amendment to force the Corps to de-authorize the MRGO to deep-draft vessels and to develop a plan for the future of the MRGO, including plans to restore the coastal wetlands and marshes destroyed by the channel.

To learn more about the MRGO and our efforts to monitor the closure plan, click here.