It wants to go down the Achafalaya, at the old river lock. If it did, it would not send all the water down there, but a huge amount that would be catastrophic for those in the center of the flood. It will happen. The river is eating away at the structure, and they keep fighting it. But one year, probably in a high water year with lots of flooding, they will lose the battle.
And when it does, NO will be a back water with a much smaller river, and the rebuilt Morgan City or whatever will become the new major port...and all sorts of horrid things will happen to the economy while people are dealing with the change.
There was a documentary on I beleive the Discovery Channel outling this very thing.
Also the 93 floods on the upper Mississippi deserve comment.
All the best minds said that they had the Ole Muddy under control.
NOT, the river will do what it wants to do and cannot be controlled over the long term.
I've heard this mentioned on a couple of threads. Is it commonly accepted that it will occur?