NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District issued a “Notice to Proceed” Wednesday, Dec. 4, for a $12 million contract to enlarge approximately two miles of levee in St. Charles Parish. The enlarged levee will further reduce risk for residences and businesses in the area from a storm that has a one percent chance of occurring each year. The contract was awarded to Phylway Construction, LLC, of Thibodaux, LA, through the Corps’ small business program.
“This levee reach, stretching from the Good Hope Floodwall on the western end to the Cross Bayou Drainage Structure on the eastern end, will be constructed to an elevation of +16.5 feet,” said Brad Drouant, project manager. “In order to achieve this elevation and reduce the size of the levee footprint, construction will include the installation of a geotextile fabric within the levee.”
Geotextile fabrics are installed in the base of a levee reach to increase stability. By installing the fabric, the Corps can construct higher levees within a smaller footprint; therefore, reducing the amount of real estate rights needed for the project.
In order to install this fabric, the contractor will be degrading the existing levee outside of hurricane season, placing the geotextile fabric, and rebuilding the levee to elevation +13.5 ft by June 1, 2010. During the 2010 hurricane season, the contractor will continue to raise the levee to a 100-year elevation of +16.5 ft. Construction is expected to be complete by spring 2011.
This levee enlargement project is located on the north side of Airline Hwy, and reduces risk for communities in St. Rose, Destrehan, Norco and other areas on the east bank of St. Charles Parish. The Corps is sharing project responsibilities with its non-federal partners, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and the Pontchartrain Levee District.
Release no. 09-016