The Bayou Region
Louisiana's Working Coast
As the name implies, the region it knit together by an extensive network of waterways, some in the form of the natural bayous and others in the form of industrial channels capable of handling significant heavy industry and waterborne transportation.
With the waterways comes an extensive inland port system with distribution points to areas throughout the United States and to the world. Air, rail and interstate access complete a system of moving goods and services into and out of the area.
Oil and gas exploration, production and transportation and its related activities form a significant basis for the economy and are augmented by strong growth in medical, seafood, agriculture, metal manufacturing, tourism, retail, professional services and hospitality.
The region is consistently ranked as one of the strongest regional economies in the nation due it an abundance of natural resources, a highly productive workforce, a strong secondary education system – both college and technical, affordable costs of doing business and pro-business communities.
Lafourche Parish
The largest of Louisiana’s nearly three hundred bayous, Bayou Lafourche travels the entire length of the parish before terminating at the Gulf of Mexico at Port Fourchon, one of the U.S.’s busiest ports. Lafourche is served by direct access to U.S. Interstate 49, and is crossed at several locations by the Intracoastal Waterway. The bayou is navigable by commercial vessels beginning at its mid-point at Matthews southward and provides a home to significant fabrication and maritime operations.
At its southernmost region, Lafourche is home to Port Fourchon, a vast complex providing support to as much as 60 percent of the oil and gas activity in the Gulf of Mexico. The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port also has its home in Lafourche and supplies as much as 15 percent of all crude oil imports for the nation. Rail connects the parish at its center with airfields at Thibodaux and Galliano.
Lafourche is home to the area’s regional university, Nicholls State University. Nicholls offers associate, bachelor and graduate degree programs and is central to the ongoing economic development of the region. Lafourche also is home to vocational college campuses in Thibodaux and Galliano.
St. Mary Parish
At the westernmost end of the Bayou Region, St. Mary Parish is home to a strong economy and exceptional quality of life. St. Mary Parish is highly accessible by air, rail and road with direct connections via U.S. Interstate 49, the Intracoastal Waterway, the Atchafalaya River and the Charenton Canal. St. Mary also operates two ports: the Port of Morgan City and the Port of West St. Mary.
As a coastal parish, St. Mary is a center of oil and gas released activity with extensive fabrication, maritime transportation and support service. The parish is also heavily agricultural with significant acreage dedicated to sugar cane production.
Terrebonne Parish
Terrebonne Parish is a coastal parish that boasts a large expanse of estuaries rich with marine life and reserves of oil and natural gas. It is also at the convergence of five natural bayous, the Intracoastal Waterway and the Houma Navigational Canal, all of which provide either direct or eventual routes to the Gulf.
Access to Terrebonne Parish is made through U.S. Interstate 49 running east and west. Louisiana Highways 20, 24, 183 and 311 provide north-south access into the parish and into the metro area of Houma. The Intracoastal Waterway and the Houma Navigational Canal provide direct access to the Gulf of Mexico and are home to the extensive oil and gas fabrication, service and support and marine transportation companies that call Terrebonne home.
Terrebonne Parish enjoys an exceptional quality of life with abundant outdoor activities like fishing, hunting and water sports. The parish is a retail center with most major retailers present. A diverse and progressive medical community can also be found in Houma, including one of the largest cardiovascular practices in the United States. Terrebonne is within easy reach of New Orleans and its extensive dining, shopping and entertaining options.
Assumption Parish
Assumption Parish anchors the Bayou Region with connections to the Mississippi River port system and industrial corridor to the north, and the Intracoastal Waterway and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Between the two, Assumption is home to significant agricultural, seafood, fabrication, tourism and professional industries that define its culture and economy.
Vast tracts of sugar cane contribute to the economic base of the parish and offer opportunities for conversion to industrial sites. LA Highway 70 provides direct routes through the parish with connections to U.S. Interstate 10 to the north and U.S Interstate 49 to the south. Paralleling historic Bayou Lafourche on its journey to the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana Highways 1 and 308 provide major access into and out of the parish.