A unique project to resuscitate the dying Maurepas Swamp, an overlooked treasure nestled between New Orleans and Baton Rouge along Interstate 10, broke ground on Tuesday.

The project will reunite one of the largest forested wetlands in the nation with the Mississippi River more than 80 years after they were disconnected. It will have an added benefit, too, helping the state save costs on an adjacent levee project designed to protect repeatedly flooded neighborhoods from storm surge.