Concrete mat-making operation slows down

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Rawson said next year’s contract will be for 70,000 mats.

“Construction is almost complete,” he said, adding that part of the remaining work includes going back and laying longer sections of mats in some areas of the river that already have some protection.

“It’s like the interstates. There’s always a need for maintenance,” said contractor Dan Fordice.

Fordice said the plant, which employs about 90 seasonal workers, started on this year’s contract in April and would have been finished by July 4 were it not for this year’s high water.

The Mississippi’s spring flood topped the yard’s protective levee on April 11, shutting down operations until June 9.

During busier times, the plant would have been humming from mid-February to mid-December, Fordice said.