NEW ORLEANS –A contract was awarded Thursday, April 15, that will ensure that a continuous line of risk reduction is present at each of the four pump stations on the east bank of Jefferson Parish in order to reduce risk for residences and businesses. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District awarded a contract for $174 million to Odebrecht Construction, Inc. to construct fronting protection at the Duncan, Elmwood, Suburban, and Bonnabel pump stations. Public safety continues to be the Corps’ top priority.
“Fronting protection is an important feature for the Lake Pontchartrain & Vicinity portion of the Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System,” said Carl Anderson, Senior Project Manager. “This project will protect the pump stations from storm surge and associated waves, as well as prevent any water from backflowing through the pump station.”
Construction will consist of placing T-walls in front of the pump station and the extension of the pump discharge tubes through the floodwall. Valves or gates will also be constructed to prevent any water from backflowing through the pumps. The fronting protection floodwalls will tie in to the existing levees on either side of the pump station.
Construction will begin on the Elmwood and Suburban pump stations first. The fronting protection construction 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 construct new breakwaters at these pump stations. The new breakwaters are scheduled to be complete before the peak of 2010 hurricane season. Breakwaters work in tandem with fronting protection to provide the 100-year level of risk reduction by knocking down waves associated with storm surges.
Completion of the fronting protection at all four stations is scheduled for May 2013. A 100-yr level of risk reduction will be provided upon completion of the fronting protection at the Suburban and Elmwood Pump Stations, currently scheduled for September 2011. The new breakwaters being constructed at Duncan and Bonnabel Pump Stations will provide the 100-year level of risk reduction at these stations in the interim.
The Corps is sharing responsibilities with its non-federal partners, 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.
Release no. 10.093