NEW ORLEANS, LA – On Saturday, October 5th, at 10:15 AM, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers closed the Seabrook Floodgate Complex due to the impacts from Tropical Storm Karen. In following operating procedures for key structures of the Greater New Orleans Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System, the closure of the gates at Seabrook follows the closing of the gates at the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal-Lake Borgne Surge Barrier earlier today.
The Seabrook Floodgate Complex is located at the north end of the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC; also known locally as the Industrial Canal) just south of Lake Pontchartrain and the Senator Ted Hickey Bridge. This structure works in tandem with the IHNC-Lake Borgne Surge Barrier to reduce the risk associated with a storm surge that has a one percent chance of occurring in any given year, or a 100-year storm surge, for some of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina, including New Orleans East, metro New Orleans, Gentilly, the Ninth Ward and St. Bernard Parish. The total construction value for the Seabrook Floodgate Complex is approximately $165 million.
Release no. 13-067