LIVINGSTON PARISH - Residents in Livingston Parish were brought up to speed on the progress of the Comite River Diversion Canal Project.

Just a month ago local, state, and federal leaders came together to break ground on the project. The diversion project has been in the works for more than 30 years.

The project consists of a 12-mile-long diversion channel from the Comite River to the Mississippi River and will include a diversion structure at the Comite River, guide levees, Lilly Bayou control structure, and drop structures at the intersections of the diversion channel with McHugh Road, Bayou Baton Rouge, Cypress Bayou, and White Bayou.

The U.S Army Corps of Engineers has laid out an intense construction plan that would see the project built by the summer of 2021.