Flood Mitigation
Corps Updates Cost for $3.7B Louisiana Levee System Project
Crews work on the sand fill along the centerline of the levee and the protected side channel excavation for a portion of the West Shore Lake Pontchartrain hurricane and storm damage risk reduction project.
Photo by Melanie Oubre/U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans District
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says its West Shore Lake Pontchartrain hurricane and storm damage risk reduction project in southeastern Louisiana is expected to cost a total of $3.7 billion, up from an estimate of $760 million nearly a decade ago. The agency anticipates awarding several more contracts for pieces of the project this year.
The plan calls for construction of a series of levees, flood walls and pump stations spanning 17.5 miles to protect a three-parish area on the east bank of the Mississippi River west of New Orleans from a 100-year storm. Planning for the project started in the 1970s, but Congress did not authorize funding until after 2012’s Hurricane Isaac, which flooded about 7,000 homes in the area as well as a key evacuation route from New Orleans on Interstate 10.
Corps officials attributed the cost increase to a variety of factors. The initial cost estimate was based on 2014 economic conditions and preliminary designs. Col. Cullen Jones, New Orleans District commander, said in a statement that material and labor cost hikes seen throughout the industry have also played a role.
“An increase in project cost has become common throughout the nation, for not only Corps of Engineers constructed projects, but also for goods and services due to ongoing supply chain issues,” he said.
The Corps has also refined its plans since making the initial cost estimate, with increased cost including $1.3 billion for periodic levee lifts. About 5.4 million cu yd of material will be needed for those—more than double the amount of material that was initially planned. During planning, the Corps also doubled the planned pumping capacity to 4,000 cu ft per second, adding about $350 million to the cost. Environmental mitigation costs increased by about $700 million from the initial estimate, and other factors increased it by another $650 million.
Altogether, the Corps says the total cost increase includes about $1.27 billion in additional funding it needs for the planned levee elevations, pump stations and drainage structures, plus $1.7 billion for future levee lifts and environmental impact mitigation efforts.
Jones said the Corps will continue awarding construction contracts with available funding while “simultaneously pursuing every option for securing additional funds.” Bren Haase, chair of the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, said in a statement that it would also “work diligently to secure the funding needed to complete” the project.
“The importance of the West Shore Lake Pontchartrain project to the River parish region cannot be overstated,” Haase said.
The Corps has also advertised contract opportunities for several more pieces of the project, including levee and flood wall construction, plus related work.
In December, the Corps awarded the first levee construction contract under the project. The $9.3-million contract awarded to Lafayette, La.-based Meloine-Frazier LLC covers construction of a 1-mile long levee reach in St. John the Baptist Parish with 87,000 cu yd of commercial borrow material. The Corp expects that work to complete next year. The agency also awarded a $25.5-million contract in March to B&K Construction, Mandeville, La., for construction of a 1.7-mile levee reach and a $22.6-million contract in April to Thibodaux, La.-based Onshore Materials LLC for a 1.8-mile levee reach in St. John the Baptist and St. Charles parishes.
