Elliot City, Louisiana City was abandoned in 1939 when its residents were forced to leave due to the construction of the Morganza Spillway. This area is inside the floodway levee system and was entirely underwater when the floodway gates at the Morganza control structure were opened in 1973 and 2011 to relieve the high water level of the Mississippi River. The area is subject to being flooded if the control structure gates are ever opened again. The Elliot City area is a short distance south, southwest of a now inactive U.S. Army Air Corps bombing range used as a training area for aircraft
Morganza to the Gulf Total federal cost: $576,355,000 Total non-federal cost: $310,345,000 The feasibility report was completed in March 2002. The Chief’s Report was signed on 23 August 2002. Preliminary Engineering and Design (PED) for the Houma Navigation Canal lock is ongoing and scheduled to be completed in December 2007. PED for the additional project features is also ongoing and scheduled to be completed in FY 08. A bill containing the authorization for Terrebonne's Morganza-to-the-Gulf hurricane protection system, a system of levees, floodgates and a lock on the Houma Navigation Canal, passed the U.S. Senate by an overwhelming margin today. The Senate voted 91