NEW ORLEANS -The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District recently awarded the fourth of seventeen New Orleans to Venice (NOV) / Non-Federal Levee (NFL) projects, a $41.6 million levee enlargement contract to Nevada-based Target Construction. The NOV / NFL projects will reduce risk in Plaquemines Parish and defend against a storm surge event that has a two percent chance of occurring in any given year.
The 30-month contract includes raising 8.2 miles of earthen levee between Oakville and La Reussite to an elevation between 7.5 and 9 feet. The upgraded levees will tie into the Ollie Pump Station Fronting Protection project, which is currently under construction. Once completed, both features will provide a continuous line of risk reduction from storm surge from Barataria Bay to the Jesuit Bend community. Construction should be complete late 2015. (Project area and fronting protection image are noted on the below map.)
The NOV / NFL projects are two separate projects being constructed on a complementary timeline. The NOV project includes approximately 37 miles of back levee modifications, fronting protection and 2 sector gates on the westbank; and floodwall fronting protection at 2 locations on the eastbank. The NFL project area is located on the westbank, where the Federally-authorized West Bank and Vicinity (WBV) project ends in Oakville. The NFL project includes approximately 20 miles of back levee replacements or modifications and a tie-in to the Mississippi River Levees.
The Corps will continue to work closely with its partners at the Plaquemines Parish Government and Costal Protection and Restoration Authority Board on the NOV/NFL program.
Release no. 13-022