Bonnet Carré Spillway - National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark
The United States Army Corps of Engineers built this spillway to protect the City of New Orleans from catastrophic flood events. The construction of this structure marked the end of the levees-only policy and ushered in the era of flood management on the Mississippi River through the use of levees, spillways and control structures. The needle-controlled weir structure is 7700 feet in length and includes 350 bays opened individually to divert flood waters into Lake Pontchartrain. Opened: August 30, 1931 Designated: December 13, 2017