NEW ORLEANS – It took three million man hours, 300,000 cubic yards of concrete and 50 Eiffel towers worth of steel, but the $1.5 billion St. Bernard risk reduction system, which stretches 23-miles from the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal-Lake Borgne Surge Barrier at Bayou Bienvenue to the Mississippi River Levee in Caernarvon, now defends against a storm surge event that has a one percent chance of occurring in any given year, or a 100-year storm surge event.
“The final piece to the St. Bernard risk reduction system was constructing the eight-and-a-half-mile Verret to Caernarvon floodwall,” said Col. Robert Sinkler, commander of the Corps’ Hurricane Protection Office. “St. Bernard Parish residents now have the best risk reduction system in their history.”
The Verret to Caernarvon floodwall contract (LPV 148) was awarded to Cajun Constructors in fall 2010. The $376 million project included construction of concrete floodwalls that sit atop earthen levees and are built to an elevation of between 27 and 32 feet, depending on the location. Prior to the 2005 hurricane season, the average St. Bernard risk reduction structure was only 14 feet. Since then the Corps has developed stricter design criteria and materials standards.
"The completion of these critical levee system improvements is key to protecting our community for generations to come," said St. Bernard Parish President Craig P. Taffaro, Jr. "We are extremely grateful for the partnerships at the federal level that helped make this massive undertaking a reality."
Construction photos from St. Bernard Parish can be found by clicking here:
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/teamneworleans/sets/72157623832243267/>
High resolution images of projects described above are available upon request.
Release no. 11-052