NEW ORLEANS -The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District recently awarded a 16-month construction contract to make improvements to the southern portion of Murphy Canal on the west bank of Jefferson Parish. The project, which is part of the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Damage Reduction Project (SELA), will reduce the risk of damages from a 10-year rainfall event. A 10-year event is basically a rain storm that has a 10% annual probability of occurrence and equates to approximately 9 inches of rain over a 24-hour period for our area.
The $4.431 million contract calls for National Services, Inc., to widen and improve approximately 3,300 linear feet of the existing Murphy canal. The project area runs along the east side of Peters Road, beginning south of the entrance to Boomtown Casino and ending at Bayou Road. A notice to proceed is expected to be issued by early-October and construction is scheduled to be completed in February 2015.
The Corps continues to work closely with its partners at the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and Jefferson Parish on the SELA program. To date, the majority of the work to improve major drainage canals and pump stations on the west bank of Jefferson Parish is complete. A total of 53 contracts have been awarded in Jefferson Parish to date, with work completed on 45 of those projects. All scheduled SELA work in Jefferson Parish should be finished in 2017.
Release no. 13-058