The LaBranche Wetlands are the brackish marsh surrounding the stretch of I-10 between Jefferson and St. Charles parishes. Early construction activities, led by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in partnership with CPRA, began in July 2023 on the $56.9 million restoration effort. Unlike much of CPRAs work in remote areas along the coast, this exciting project is in a highly visible area along I-10, bringing coastal restoration into the everyday lives of many Louisianians and travelers.

The LaBranche Marsh Creation project is a combination of two adjacent restoration projects that will use some 6 million cubic yards of sediment, dredged from Lake Pontchartrain to fill nearly 1,500 acres of open water and restore a significant portion of the wetlands. Current project plans include nourishing 148 acres of existing wetlands and creating 1,471 acres of emergent wetlands using three containment cells that mimic the height of existing healthy marsh in the area. The new marsh areas will also include 39 new tidal ponds, 5-feet-deep rectangular pools that will foster growth of aquatic vegetation, and connecting creeks to facilitate natural water flow.

The two project areas will create the longest tract of contiguous, critical fringe marsh in Lake Pontchartrain to help diversify and sustain the estuary, ultimately creating a more ecologically vibrant habitat in the LaBranche Wetlands. Additionally, the new tract of marsh will support the overall environmental quality and health of the Pontchartrain Basin.

At the end of 2023, construction of 33,612 linear feet of containment dikes has been competed around two of the projects marsh creation cells, in addition to 21,000 linear feet of containment dikes around a third cell has also been complete.