Place:Port Eads, Plaquemines, Louisiana, United States

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NamePort Eads
TypeInhabited place
Coordinates29.0°N 89.15°W
Located inPlaquemines, Louisiana, United States
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Port Eads is a populated place at the southern tip of the Mississippi River, also known as South Pass, in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, United States. The Mississippi River in the 100-mile-plus stretch between the Port of New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico frequently suffered from silting up of its outlets, stranding ships, or making parts of the river unnavigable for a period of time. The port was renamed in honor of James Buchanan Eads whose design for the south pass of the Mississippi River solved this problem. It was designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1982.

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History

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Eads south pass navigation works

The Mississippi River in the 100-mile-plus stretch between the Port of New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico frequently suffered from silting up of its outlets, stranding ships, or making parts of the river unnavigable for a period of time. Starting in 1876, James Buchanan Eads (1820–1887) solved the problem with a wooden jetty system that narrowed the main outlet of the river. This caused the river to speed up and cut its channel deeper, so allowing year-round navigation and safe access to the river for large steamers. In the twenty years following the completion of the jetties, trade at New Orleans doubled. Eads was thus honored by having the port at South Pass named after him.

Eads' design for the jetties of the south pass of the Mississippi River was also designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1982.

Hurricane Katrina

The port was completely devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Very little remained except the lighthouse and a few fishing camps.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) originally obligated $400,000 to rebuild the Port Eads Marina after Katrina. Parish President Billy Nungesser took office in 2007. He felt the $400,000 was insufficient and he personally traveled to Washington, D.C. and appealed the amount. In early 2009, FEMA authorized up to $12 million for the project.

Pictorial History of Port Eads

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia


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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Port Eads, Louisiana. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.