A general contractor is installing two 550-ton sector-gate leaves in a $1.3-billion barrier designed to reduce the risk of a hurricane’s storm surge on New Orleans’ exposed eastern side. The leaves will plug a big hole in the city’s armor for the 2011 hurricane season.
Massman Construction Co., Kansas City, Mo., is installing the two 75-ft-wide, 42-ft-tall sector-gate leaves to form an armored door for a 150-ft-wide navigable passage through the 1.8-mile-long, 26-ft-plus-elevation barrier, known as the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal-Lake Borgne Storm-Surge Barrier, or IHNC. It is part of a much larger defense system designed to reduce flood risk for the entire city.