St. Charles celebrated the groundbreaking of the CN Railroad Culverts Project on Tuesday, December 9, 2025. This major drainage improvement will increase water flow beneath CN Railroad and bring long-overdue upgrades to the drainage system that serves the Ormond area.

For more than 40 years, limited drainage capacity beneath the railroad has prevented water from moving from the south side of the railroad tracks to the north side, where the recently improved Destrehan No. 2 Pump Station is located. This restriction has contributed to repeated flooding in nearby neighborhoods, including homes and businesses that have experienced multiple losses.

“Destrehan residents have dealt with flooding for far too long,” said St. Charles Parish President Matthew Jewell. “Our administration is tackling this issue head-on. We secured grant funding that covered more than sixty percent of the total cost, allowing us to stretch local tax dollars and move this work into construction.”

The CN Railroad Culverts Project will install three new 60-inch culverts using the Jack and Bore method. A second location within the project area will have two new 54-inch culverts installed. Together, the pipes will significantly increase the amount of water that can move beneath the railroad during heavy rainfall events and improve overall flow to the Destrehan No. 2  Pump Station.

The project received $6,314,616 through the federal Community Development Block Grant Mitigation Program administered by the Office of Community Development and the Louisiana Watershed Initiative Design Support Program. Local funds will cover the remaining construction costs. BLD Services, LLC was awarded the contract with a low bid of $10,542,425, and Barowka and Bonura Engineers and Consultants, LLC provided engineering services. Construction will begin in the coming months and is expected to take about twelve months to complete.