Louisiana levee construction to begin in February

12/17/2008

By Angelle Bergeron

Parts of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, that were flooded during Hurricane Rita will be better protected this hurricane season, thanks to a cooperative agreement signed by the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government, the Terrebonne Levee Conservation District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin $30.24 million in non-federal levee construction by as early as February 2009.

The signing took place at the Terrebonne Parish Council in Houma on Dec. 15, 16 months earlier than the originally scheduled April 2010 notice to proceed.

“Normal construction was expected to last approximately 12 months, which would have had the levees constructed by March 31, 2011,” says Amanda Jones, Corps public affairs specialist. “We will be complete by June 2009, so this accelerated schedule is taking approximately 21 months off the original schedule.”

Funding was specifically designated for rehabilitation of non-federal levees in Terrebonne in June 2006 as part of the fourth supplemental emergency hurricane repair appropriations, says Al Levron, public works director for Terrebonne Parish. Of the estimated 100 mi of levees requiring repairs or upgrades, parish officials and the Corps identified Suzie Canal and portions of Orange Street levees in Dulac as the most critical.

“It’s a total reconstruction of the existing levees to meet Corps standards, including mitigation,” Levron says. The project includes creation of 72 acres of marsh habitat on the protected side of the levee.

Although the project is 100% federally funded, due to the accelerated time frame, the parish was asked to provide land easements, rights of ways, relocations and deeds, as well as the estimated 700,000 cu yds of borrow material needed for the project, Levron says.

“We estimate our local cost is going to be on the order of $1 million when it’s all said and done.”

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