NEW ORLEANS – On Wednesday, July 27, at 9:00 p.m., the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and its construction contractor will close the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway where it crosses the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC)-Lake Borgne Surge Barrier. The closure of the waterway will last until approximately 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 28.
Marine vessels scheduled to arrive at the barrier after 9:00 p.m. will not be allowed to cross the surge barrier during the training exercise and should make plans accordingly. Vessels west of the barrier will only be able to exit the GIWW-IHNC corridor through the IHNC Lock to the Mississippi River.
The full closure will allow the Corps to test fit the approximately 5,700-ton barge gate for a second time and refine the process in the event of an approaching tropical system this hurricane season.
The barge gate is one of three gates that comprise the IHNC-Lake Borgne Surge Barrier. The other gates—a vertical lift gate at Bayou Bienvenue and a flood control sector gate on the GIWW adjacent to the barge gate—have already been installed and are currently in the closed position.
Work on the gates will continue into 2012 and will include installing the electrical controls, guide walls and other items. The surge barrier wall and north and south floodwall tie-ins are substantially complete, and the entire structure can defend against a storm surge event that has a one percent chance of occurring in any given year, or a 100-year storm surge event.
Once the closure is lifted, mariners are urged to proceed with caution and pass through at their slowest safe speed to minimize wake.
Release no. 11-035