Design and Construction
The Morganza Spillway, a 4,159-foot (1,268 m) controlled spillway using a set of flood gates to control the volume of water entering the Morganza Floodway from the Mississippi River, consists of a concrete weir, two sluice gates, seventeen scour indicators, and 125 gated openings which can allow up to 600,000 cubic feet per second (17,000 cubic metres per second) of water to be diverted from the Mississippi River into the Atchafalaya Basin during major floods. The project was completed in 1954.
A highway (Louisiana Route 1) and the Kansas City Southern Railway cross the structure.
The Corps of Engineers maintains the structures and, in times of flood, monitors their piers for scouring and stability. To lift and lower the flood gates, the Corps of Engineers maneuvers a movable crane along the spillway to the particular opening.
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