GLPC History
The Greater Lafourche Port Commission was established by the state of Louisiana in 1960 and exercises jurisdiction over the Tenth Ward of Lafourche Parish, south of the Intracoastal Waterway, including Port Fourchon and the South Lafourche Leonard Miller, Jr. Airport. For more information on the history of Port Fourchon and the South Lafourche Airport, check out the timeline and links below.
Port History | Airport HistoryGreater Lafourche Port Commission Timeline
- 1960 – GLPC created by Act 222 of LA Legislature
- 1961 – 10th ward voters approved 5-mill property tax to fund development of Port Fourchon
- 1963 – Development property donated to Commission by LL&E and Caillouets
- 1965 – Clamshell Fourchon Road is ready for traffic
- 1967 – Belle Pass dredged to 12 ft. deep and 125 ft. wide
- 1971 – First elected board takes office
- 1972 – Harbor Police department created
- 1972 – Capital Improvement Projects begin from bond proceeds
- 1975 – Environmental Impact Study funded
- 1978 – Executive Director Ted Falgout hired
- 1979 – First major port tenant, Martin Fuel, opens for business
- 1981 – LOOP starts operations
- 1983 – Oil bust opens door for industry to consolidate in Port Fourchon
- 1984 – 400-acre E-Slip development begins
- 1987 – Annual lease rentals surpass the $1 million mark
- 1990 – $1,785,000 Transportation Trust Fund grant received for dock facilities
- 1993 – Grants received exceed $3.5 million
- 1993 – Annual lease revenues surpass $2 million
- 1993 – Total expenditures exceed $7 million
- 1995 – Deepwater Royalty Relief Act passed
- 1997 – LA 1 Coalition formed
- 1998 – Port Fourchon experiences unprecedented growth
- 1999 – Port purchases 4,000 acres from Burlington
- 2000 – 400-acre E-Slip project completely leased 30 years ahead of schedule
- 2001 – Northern Expansion project permitted and under construction, doubling size of port
- 2001 – South Lafourche Airport and surrounding 1,200 acres acquired by Port Commission
- 2003 – New GLPC Administration Office constructed
- 2004 – $27 million total budget
- 2004 – Annual lease revenues exceed $10 million
- 2005 – Nearly 250 companies operate from and/or utilize Port Fourchon
- 2006 – Construction of new toll bridge at Leeville begins
- 2007 – 700-acre Northern Expansion developed, and over half leased
- 2008 – Additional 400-acre expansion
- 2008 – Port Commission budget exceeds $70 million
- 2008 – $360 million in highway improvements underway
- 2009 – Tomey Doucet Bridge portion of the elevated LA 1 Expressway opens to traffic
- 2010 – New Executive Director Chett Chiasson becomes second director in port history
- 2010 – GLPC celebrates 50 years of growth
- 2011 – Slip C construction begins
- 2012 – GLPC surpasses $20 million in revenues
- 2013 – $15+ million Slip C bulkhead project begins, port’s single largest project awarded to date
- 2014 – South Lafourche Airport in Galliano becomes Chevron’s airbase for all of its Gulf operations
- 2014 – Port has over 75,900 linear feet of waterfront property, including the new Slip C, leased
- 2014 – Communications upgrades make fiber connectivity available to 100% of port tenants
- 2015 – Port begins Slip D construction
- 2015 – GLPC wins national AAPA Environmental Enhancement Award for Beach and Dune Restoration Geotube Project
- 2016 – GLPC takes over operation/management of South Lafourche Airport’s fixed base operator, GAO FBO
- 2018 – Approximately 1,000 acres of wetlands and marsh created by GLPC since 2000, plus 1,000+ more elevated, developed to stave off coastal land loss
- 2018 – GLPC leases 900 acres from Wisner to develop the future Fourchon Island site
- 2019 – More than 75,000 linear feet of bulkhead constructed in Port Fourchon
- 2020 – GLPC celebrates 60 year anniversary
- 2020 – GLPC takes over operation/management of South Lafourche Airport’s fixed base operator, GAO FBO
- 2020 – GLPC receives DOTD Transportation Excellence Award for Intermodal/Public Works Project Development
- 2020 – $135 million federal INFRA grant awarded for LA 1 Project, final piece needed to fully fund Golden Meadow to Leeville segment
- 2021 – GLPC opens Port Fourchon Coastal Wetlands Park
- 2021 – Category 4 Hurricane Ida makes landfall in Port Fourchon; port is open for business within 9 days
- 2022 – Over 83,000 linear feet of waterfront property developed in Port Fourchon
- 2022 – Port Fourchon first port in the world to have real-time emissions monitoring with SailPlan technology
- 2023 – 850+ acres of Caillouet-owned property in Fourchon area purchased by GLPC, leaving the Port Commission as exclusive manager of all industrial property in Port Fourchon