By 2027, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts the road that keeps 16 % of the nation’s oil and gas production operational will flood so often it will have to be closed more than 30 days a year. Conservatively, the road is sinking 7.2 millimeters a year and faces about 2 mm a year of sea-level rise. Within 40 years, the road could be impassable for more than 300 days a year.
A 2011 Dept. of Homeland Security study determined that a 90-day closure of the road — Louisiana 1, the only access road to Port Fourchon, which services much of the oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico—would result in a loss of up to $7.8 billion in gross domestic product.
By 2027, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts the road that keeps 16 % of the nation’s oil and gas production operational will flood so often it will have to be closed more than 30 days a year. Conservatively, the road is sinking 7.2 millimeters a year and faces about 2 mm a year of sea-level rise. Within 40 years, the road could be impassable for more than 300 days a year.