Texas & Louisiana Industry News: August 2023
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimated that the cost of the Louisiana levee system will reach $3.7 billion.
Photo Courtesy USACE
Corps of Engineers Updates Louisiana Levee Cost to $3.7B
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 Corps anticipates awarding several more project contracts this year.
“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.”
—Col. Cullen Jones, New Orleans District Manager, USACE
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 estimate was based on 2014 economic conditions and preliminary designs. Col. Cullen Jones, New Orleans District commander, said material and labor costs 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,” Jones said.
The Corps has also refined its plans since making the initial cost estimate. The increased cost includes $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 initially planned. 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 estimate, and other factors increased it by another $650 million. The Corps says the total cost increase includes $1.27 billion in added funding for planned levee elevations, pump stations and drainage structures, plus $1.7 billion for future levee lifts and environmental impact mitigation.
Coastal Restoration Set For $50B Investment Over 50 Years in Louisiana
Louisiana’s latest version of a master plan to combat land loss and protect coastal communities from rising waters and hurricanes was approved by its coastal board in May. The 50-year, $50-billion outline is the fourth version of the strategic document to combat coastal erosion and flooding in most of the southern part of the state where natural resources, communities and wetland ecosystems are especially at risk.
Added to the 2023 master plan were four bridge projects located along the state’s coastline valued at about $75 million. Two bridges are located in Vermillion Parish, one in Terrebonne Parish and another in St. Bernard Parish. Other major projects include the $1.7-billion, 31-mile Iberia-St. Martin Upland Levee and the 28-mile, $1.4-billion Lafitte Ring Levee. The plan calls for $16 billion in marsh creation by dredging and restoring coastal shorelines and ecosystems and another $14 billion to build earthen levees, concrete T-walls and floodgates to reduce structural risks. Overall, the plan sets aside $11 billion for structural risk. According to the plan, if action is not taken, damage could cost more than $15.2 billion to $24.2 billion annually.
Pratt & Whitney Begins Engine Plant Depot In Oklahoma City
Construction started in early July on a massive facility to complement the operations of aerospace company Pratt & Whitney in Oklahoma City. The facility will serve as a depot to support the company’s military engines maintained at a nearby base and other locations.
The two-story structure will include a warehouse measuring more than 842,000 sq ft with an option to expand to 942,000 sq ft. The second floor will house about 86,000 sq ft of office space. A 100,000-sq-ft adjacent training facility is planned for the future.
It will serve as a hub for depot support for the company’s military engines at nearby Tinker Air Force Base and other military depots.
Layton Construction was named the general contractor, and Olsson Engineering is the civil engineer.
Texas A&M Expands Links To Community Colleges to Educate More Engineers
To attract more underrepresented students to engineering fields and help fill a projected shortage of more than 50,000 practitioners in the state over the next five years, Texas A&M University has extended its link with the state’s community colleges to educate 25,000 engineers by 2025, which administrators said is within reach.
South Texas College in McAllen and Tyler Junior College in Tyler recently became the eighth and ninth community colleges to join the Texas A&M Engineer Academy, begun more than a decade ago.
Ed Bassett, director of the Texas A&M academy, said its primary objectives are access, affordability and graduation. About 33% of those enrolled are first-generation college students who are more likely to come from low-income or minority backgrounds. More than half its students are Latino, 6% are Black and 20% are women.
With finances often a barrier, Bassett says academy students save more than $40,000 in tuition and fees over four years by attending two years of community college. About 80% graduate on time with an average GPA of 3.2. “Our program offers access and affordability, which is opening doors to underserved and underrepresented students,” said Bassett.
Italy’s Enel Picks Oklahoma Site for Solar Panel Plant
Italian solar energy panel maker Enel Group has chosen Inola, Okla., to locate its first U.S.-based plant. The planned $1-billion facility, announced last November, is considered a sign that federal and state economic incentives are drawing foreign companies to invest in the American renewable energy market.
Construction is expected to start this fall on the 2-million-sq-ft facility, with production of photovoltaic panels expected by the end of 2024. The facility is aiming to reach 3 GW annual capacity in 2025, with a possible expansion to 6 GW.
Enel North America’s affiliate 3Sun USA said Inola, home to the Port of Tulsa, offers easy access to barge and rail transportation..
policy tailwinds from the Inflation Reduction Act have served as a catalyst for our solar manufacturing ambitions in the U.S., ushering in a new era of made-in-America energy,” Enrico Viale, head of Enel North America, said in announcing the plant.
Jackson, Miss., Gets $115M To Fix Water Infrastructure
Jackson, Miss., has been awarded $115 million by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to upgrade its water system—the first round of funding for engineering and leak controls following a total halt last year in city water distribution.
Ted Henifin, the federally appointed third-party city water manager, said $15 million was allocated for projects aimed at leak repairs for the Jackson Public Water System.
Henifin, appointed last year by the U.S. Justice Dept., said June 5 that his top priority is to repair Jackson’s hundreds of water leaks that cause the city of about 150,000 to use 50 million gallons of water daily while comparably sized cities typically use 20 million gallons per day.
“We should not need more than 20 million gallons of water, yet we’re putting close to 50 into the system every day,” Henefin explained. “We have leaks everywhere—big leaks we haven’t even found.”
One large leak that was sealed recently lost 5 million gallons daily, he said. Ironically, the day before EPA announced its funding, Jackson discovered another massive leak in its downtown area.
