Construction underway on Bayou Caddy Marina

HANCOCK COUNTY — A Hancock County marina that was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina is well on its way to a comeback.

Construction has started on a new harbor master building at Bayou Caddy Marina to replace the one destroyed during the storm. WLOX TV reports the new building towers over docking spaces.

“Before the storm the Harbor Master building consisted of an office and public restroom facilities and that’s exactly what will be going back although it’s a little more of a stronger building because since the storm with the new flood elevations this building will be elevated over 20 foot in the air,” explained Hancock County Engineer Geoffrey Clemens.

Since Katrina, several new amenities, like a new fishing pier and 800 feet of new docking space for commercial fishermen have been added. And another 200 to 300 feet of docking space is planned.

The Bayou Caddy Marina has room for about 30 commercial fishing boats. The planned expansion will nearly double that.

Storm damaged water and electrical hook-ups have already been replaced.

“It’s nice to have power and running water,” said commercial fisherman Raymond McCall.

The $600,000 harbor master building is expected to be finished by summer. The total cost of the repair work will be $1.5 million. Funding sources include the Federal Emergency Management Agency and federal block grant money.