NEW ORLEANS, LA – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District, recently awarded a contract for approximately $49 million, for Florida Ave. Canal improvements near the Upper Ninth Ward.
The contract is a part of SELA, the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, that will reduce flood damages due to rainfall in Orleans, Jefferson, and St. Tammany parishes.
“The area is slowly redeveloping, and the Corps and the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans hope that providing rainfall drainage improvements with the completion of this project will accelerate the process” said Lori Wingate, project manager.
The contract was awarded to B&K Construction Company, LLC, a small business from Mandeville, LA. B&K Construction Company will construct almost 1,300 linear feet of canal improvements to the Florida Ave. Canal, almost doubling its size to a 43.5’ wide by 13.5’ high flume. The project runs from the vicinity of the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal to Mazant St. and should be completed in about two and one-half years.
The SELA canal improvements in Orleans Parish support the Sewerage and Water Board’s master drainage plan and generally provide flood protection on a level associated with a ten-year rainfall event, while also reducing damages from larger events.
Release no. 10-115