Comite Diversion project funding gap explained, contracts yet to be awarded

BATON ROUGE - The Army Corps of Engineers says it knew there was going to be a cost increase to complete the Comite Diversion Canal project - it just didn't realize the increase would be so large.On March 22, a day after the Comite Diversion Canal task force met at the state capitol, the Corps learned that the cost of the project ballooned to about $907 million.Nick Sims, Deputy Chief of Programs and Project Management for the New Orleans District Corps of Engineers, says another $420 million i