A federal project to replace the lock on the Industrial Canal in New Orleans has ballooned in cost — from under $1 billion to nearly $5 billion — as opposition builds among those who live nearby.

The prior version of the plan, published in 2017, set the project’s budget at $951.3 million.

The version released last week puts the cost at $4.69 billion, an increase the Corps says is due to eight years of inflation, new initiatives to reduce community impacts and some minor engineering changes.

The project has come up against fierce opposition from those who live on both sides of the canal in the Bywater, Lower Ninth Ward and Holy Cross neighborhoods. They fear the project will bring years of noise from pile driving, blocked roads, displacement and environmental disruption with little ben

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