City wharf renovations nearing completion

In just a few months, Morgan City residents and visitors will be able to enjoy the city’s newly improved wharf on the Atchafalaya River.

The $2.05 million project entailed extending Morgan City’s riverfront wharf by about 200 feet and upgrading the existing 800 feet of wharf. The riverfront wharf will go from Brashear Avenue to Railroad Avenue.

The contractor’s completion date for the wharf project is March 31. Once the contractor finishes, the city will do some aesthetic work, Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi said. Larry Doiron of Morgan City is the contractor while the subcontractor is Coastal Construction & Engineering of Broussard.

The wharf should be open to the public by the summer, he said.

A $1.24 million state Department of Natural Resources grant, $370,000 in city funds, $290,000 in port money and a $150,000 donation from the H&B Young Foundation paid for the project.

Morgan City was awarded the grant in 2006 to put an ice house on the riverfront, but Grizzaffi contacted state officials in 2013 to request grant money first be used to improve the city’s wharf, he said.

City officials got approval, hired an engineer and went to work on the project. Grizzaffi hopes the city can eventually secure state grant money to build the icehouse.
Construction on the wharf began in the fall of 2015, but high water on the Atchafalaya River during the 2016 winter then delayed the wharf work about nine months. Workers are now installing composite decking and should finish that work March 3, Grizzaffi said.

A bathroom will also be put on the Railroad Avenue side of the wharf.
The new wharf will include electric outlets for boats and city water connections every 60 feet, the mayor said. There will be a grassy park area on the riverfront from Freret Street to the U.S. 90 bridge.

Riverfront property from Freret Street to Railroad Avenue will eventually be cemented and be a prime area for shrimp boats to dock.

“We’ve already engaged all the shrimping community that’ll call Morgan City their home base,” Grizzaffi said. “They’ll be located basically from Freret Street to the end of the property near Railroad. Come buy your shrimp right off the dock just like the old days.”

Former City Councilman Luke Manfre fought to improve the wharf for a long time, and he’s on the wharf committee to see the project’s completion, Grizzaffi said.
Longtime wharf committee member Leo Grizzaffi Sr. was also instrumental in advocating for the project, the mayor said.