Why didn the project begin right after Hurricane Betsy, when other New Orleans area projects started?
While most of the metropolitan New Orleans area had begun construction of their hurricane levees following Hurricane Betsy in 1965, West Jefferson went without because of disputes between environmentalists and big land developers. No one could decide where to put the levees. The developers wanted to enclose large undeveloped tracts of land for future growth of West Jefferson but the environmentalists wanted to limit the area of protection to save the wetland tracts and leave space for construction of the Jean Lafitte National Park. Regardless the reason, no levees were built and West Jefferson still remains exposed to hurricane flooding.
