Corps issues contract to build MRGO closure structure

The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers recently issued a Notice to Proceed to the construction contractor, Pine Bluff Sand and Gravel Company of Pine Bluff, Ark., for the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) closure structure. Building the structure will end more than 45 years of navigation on the recently de-authorized federal navigation channel. The value of the construction contract is about $13.6 million.

“The notice to the contractor is a final step in closing the MRGO,” said Col. Alvin Lee, New Orleans District commander. “We will continue to work with our partner, the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, to make steady progress on this project as well as others that contribute to recovery in coastal Louisiana.”

The 950-ft-long closure structure will require placement of more than 430,000 tons of rock at Bayou La Loutre near Hopedale, La. The closure is designed to be 12 ft wide at the top and 450 ft wide at the bottom, rising 7 ft above the water surface and covering nearly 10 acres of water bottom. Once the contractor begins, construction will be complete within 220 days.

The federal government will fund the construction costs and the state government will provide lands, easements and rights of way. After construction the state will assume long-term operation and maintenance responsibilities of the closure structure.

“The Corps of Engineers and Louisiana are working faster than ever to provide protection to New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish by cooperating in the building of a surge barrier for the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal and closing the MRGO,” said Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Chairman Garret Graves. “This shows what our partnership is capable of accomplishing and hopefully the kind of pace we will continue to take when building other restoration and protection projects.”

Future work in the area will include other coastal wetlands restoration projects. The Corps is working closely with federal and state partners to produce a supplement to the MRGO closure plan that will address ecosystem restoration in areas affected by the MRGO channel. Potential plan features may include marsh creation, shoreline protection, barrier island rebuilding and freshwater diversions from the Mississippi River.

New Orleans contractor gets Buras Community Center project

Ryan Gootee General Contractors LLC of New Orleans recently announced that it has been awarded a $6.7 million contract in Buras, La.

The contractor was awarded a contract with Plaquemines Parish for the building of the Buras Community Center. The 21,500-sq-ft building is a raised structure with parking below the building.

The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

VOA completes readiness center

The Orlando office of VOA Associates Inc. announced that construction has been completed on a new 61st Troop Command Readiness Center Addition at the Louisiana.

National Guard Center, Gillis W. Long Campus, Carville, La. VOA was commissioned to serve as designer of record for the design-build project, providing full architectural services in partnership with Walton Construction of Harahan, La.

According to VOA Partner, Ted G. Fery, the single story 14,207-sq-ft classroom and administrative building is located adjacent to the existing 61st TC Readiness Center and will serve as the alternate Emergency Operations Center for the 61st Troop Command Louisiana Army National Guard.

“The design intent for the new building was to create a unique identity for the EOC while keeping the building contextual with the existing structure,” Fery says.

“A common brick and metal roof system is in keeping with the existing building and two matching courtyard breezeway walks connect the structures via a 33-ft-wide courtyard designated for use by occupants of both buildings, thereby creating a physical and social link between the structures.”

The interior floor plan and traffic flow are organized into two primary areas based on usage type and centered on the EOC/classroom space, which features 16-ft-tall ceilings and a projection wall as well as restrooms, a break room and storage areas