Senator Hodges convened the Senate Comey Diversion Canal Task Force in February 2025 for a status update on a project federal and state officials described as the state’s largest public works effort to reduce flood risk in the Baton Rouge area.

Colonel Jones, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans District, told the task force, “we are maintaining irreversible momentum towards getting this project operational,” and outlined remaining engineering, relocation and contract milestones for the 12-mile project, of which about 8 miles is an engineered diversion channel designed to be roughly 300 feet wide and 50 feet deep and to carry about 30,000 cubic feet per second (CFS) into the Mississippi River.

The Corps said six separable construction contracts remain to finish critical elements and that plans and specifications for several segments are expected in the March–April 2025 window, positioning some contracts for award by late summer 2025 and all remaining awards by the end of calendar year 2025. For the largest remaining construction segments the Corps provided a typical construction-duration estimate of about 780 days from award; the Brooks Lake guide/bridal levy segment was described as having an estimated construction duration of roughly 380 days from award.

Why this matters: Task force members pressed for a clearer operational timeline because officials are seeking an estimate the Legislature can use to explain benefits — including lowered flood risk for roughly 700,000 residents the Corps cited — and because homeowners face rising flood-insurance costs. Senator Edmonds and others asked whether recent technical findings change the projected delivery date; Corps leaders said the project should remain on an aggressive path once the remaining contracts and real‑estate instruments are in place.

Key outstanding items and schedule markers

- Florida Gas relocations: Florida Gas began relocating a pipeline section in December 2024; both the Corps and DOTD reported the company’s on-site work is proceeding and said the pipeline work was expected to be complete in July 2025. Corps staff said the initial relocation addressed a major obstruction but a later scour analysis identified a second Florida Gas line location that likely will require relocation or lowering to avoid scour. Corps officials said the utility questionnaires to confirm compensability and relocation plans were due back within approximately two weeks of the briefing. Corps staff said preliminary analysis did not indicate the new relocations would be a limiting factor for award of remaining construction contracts.

- Fermenta (intrastate) pipeline and other utilities: DOTD and the Corps identified a separate intrastate pipeline relocation (referred to as “Fermenta” in the briefing) with planned activity in the March 2025 timeframe and an estimated five-month relocation duration to support awarding the associated canal segment. DOTD said 46 of 63 required utility relocations across the project footprint were complete; the remaining relocations are ongoing.

- Brooks Lake guide/bridal levy and access: The Corps reported final designs for the Brooks Lake guide/bridal levy were finished in December 2024 and that the team is working with Louisiana State Police and DOTD to secure rights of entry and access-road alignments. Corps staff said the project will require rights-of-entry and potential parcel acquisitions (DOTD briefed the task force that four parcels for that structure still needed acquisition) before awarding the Brooks Lake contract in the October 2025 timeframe.

- Plans and specification milestones: The Corps said plans and specs for some channel segments would be ready in March–April 2025 and that Bayou Baton Rouge and AT&T relocation plans were close to finalization. DOTD said it expects construction procurement windows to take roughly four to five months from advertisement to award.

Real estate, environmental clearance and rights of entry

DOTD clarified that the Brooks Lake area includes portions outside the current environmental approval and that the Corps expects to complete the environmental assessment for the sheet-flow area by June 2025; once those environmental documents are final, DOTD said it will produce right-of-way maps and pursue parcel acquisitions and relocation agreements. DOTD said 85 of 89 parcels required for the overall project already have been acquired, and the four remaining parcels relate to Brooks Lake.

State police concerns and access road

Lance Kennedy, representing the Louisiana State Police, said the agency wants to ensure construction and any permanent access do not impair the State Police’s training facility. Corps and DOTD staff said they would meet on Feb. 13, 2025, at the training site to walk the proposed access alignment and finalize mitigations. The Corps briefed the task force that the access road could be paved and turned over to the State Police after construction and that the Corps is also identifying alternate operation-and-maintenance access north of the facility to reduce long-term impacts.

Schedule transparency and project management

Task force members repeatedly requested a single, integrated milestone schedule (resource-loaded schedule/Gantt) showing dependencies and critical path. Colonel Jones said the Corps maintains resource-loaded schedules in its project systems (Primavera/P2) and offered to present milestone updates to the task force; DOTD said it tracks bridge milestones and will coordinate schedule materials. Several legislators asked the Corps and DOTD to provide a milestone or Gantt-style view at the task-force update in June 2025 or earlier.

What officials would not commit to yet: The Corps declined to state a firm date for when operation could begin, saying a definitive, integrated operational timeline requires the actual construction schedules from the contractors after awards are made. Corps staff said they aim to have the awards in place so they can assemble those schedules and provide a firm timeline, and that once those are in hand they will provide a definitive estimate on when the system will reach operations.

Quotes and attributions

“Once we get these contracts awarded and we have those construction schedules in place, we can come back to you with a definitive timeline,” Colonel Jones said. Christina Bridal, critical projects manager at the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, noted the utility and parcel counts: “There’s a little over 63 utilities that need to be relocated. 46 out of the 63 have completed their relocations, and the remaining relocations are all ongoing throughout the project footprint.” Lance Kennedy of the Louisiana State Police said the agency “just want[s] to make sure our state police is part of this project” and that the force is willing to work through mitigations so construction does not impair training operations.

Discussion vs. decisions

Discussion only: technical scour analysis, precise FERC trigger for relocations, final construction durations and contractor schedules. Direction/assignments: Corps and DOTD to finalize plans/specs in March–April 2025 where scheduled; on-site meeting with State Police Feb. 13, 2025, to finalize access alignment; task force requested milestone reporting and the Corps agreed to provide more frequent updates. Formal actions: the task force approved the minutes from the Aug. 15, 2024 meeting (see actions list) and the Corps and DOTD recorded commitments to return with integrated schedules after contract awards.

Ending: The Corps and DOTD said they will return with updated schedules after the remaining six construction contracts are advertised and awarded; the task force asked for a midyear (June 2025) update and routine milestone reports so legislators can inform constituents about expected operational timelines and flood-insurance benefits.