[StBernard] Four Years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans Contracts Keep Coming

[Westley Annis]

Four Years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans Contracts Keep Coming
12-Nov-2009 14:49 EST

More than 4 years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the
surrounding areas, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) continues to award
large contracts to repair and strengthen flood control infrastructure in New
Orleans and the vicinity. 

The lastest contract, for $195 million, was awared to Kiewit Louisiana Co.
in Fort Worth, TX to upgrade 4 pump stations on the east bank of Lake
Pontchartrain in Jefferson Parish, LA. This contract follows a $278.8
million contract awarded to Odebrecht-Baker in Coral Gables, FL for levee
improvements to the Chalmette Loop in St. Bernard Parish, and a $33.3
million contract awarded to Tetra Tech EC in Norcross, GA for construction
of a hurricane risk reduction floodwall and 5 floodgates in the Lake
Ponchartrain area of New Orleans. 

These are a few of the many contracts the USACE has awarded or intends to
award under the Hurricane & Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (formerly the
Hurricane Protection System). USACE has developed an interactive map with
the status of all of the projects under this program in the New Orleans
area.

Under the recent Kiewit Louisiana contract, awarded Nov 6/09, the contractor
will build fronting protection at the Duncan, Elmwood, Suburban, and
Bonnabel pump stations to protect the stations from storm surge and
associated waves, as well as to prevent any water from backflowing through
the pump stations.

Kiewit will build T-walls in front of the pump stations and extension of the
pump discharge tubes through the floodwalls, as well as valves to prevent
any water from backflowing through the pumps. The fronting protection
floodwalls will tie into the existing levees on either side of the pump
stations.

Construction will begin on the Elmwood and Suburban pump stations first. The
fronting protection at these pump stations will also include improvements to
the existing breakwaters. Once this work is completed, construction will
begin on the Duncan and Bonnabel pump stations. Separate contracts have
already been awarded to build new breakwaters at these pump stations. The
new breakwaters are scheduled to be complete before the 2010 hurricane
season. 

Kiewit expects to complete construction on the Elmwood and Suburban pump
stations by June 2011, and construction on the Duncan and Bonnabel pump
stations by the summer of 2013. The breakwaters currently being built will
provide the 100-year level of risk reduction in the interim. 

The USACE is working with the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority,
the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, the Southeast
Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East, and the East Jefferson Levee
District, as well as Jefferson Parish and the City of Kenner on this
project.

Bids for this project were solicited on the web with 6 bids received by the
USACE New Orleans District, LA (W912P8-10-C-0007).