To spectators, the 10-hour lift of a 528-ft-wide, 2,650-ton steel-truss-span assembly that is part of the Huey P. Long Bridge widening project may have seemed like watching paint dry, says John Brestin, project manager for consulting engineer HNTB Corp., Kansas City. “But when you think about the fact this was three years in planning—from concept to design to getting it up—it was more like the blink of an eye.” And after the successful June 19 lift, HNTB and the contractor, MTI, say they expect subsequent lifts will be several hours faster when the next span, over the Mississippi River’s main
A 528 ft-wide, 2,650-ton steel truss span, supported by a U-shaped stability frame, is being readied for lift and placement on June 19 as part of a $1.2 billion widening project for the Huey P. Long Bridge in New Orleans, La. Video Photo: Angelle Bergeron A 2,650-ton steel truss span, part of a $1.2 billion widening project for the Huey P. Long Bridge in New Orleans, is prepared for lift and placement on June 19. Related Links: New Scheme Prepared For Bridge-Truss Installation (VIDEO) Span Readied To Receive Steel: A Bridge Grows in New Orleans (VIDEO) Time-Lapse of Huey Long
The Shaw Group Inc. is working to pry loose and draw in a large portion of the nation’s dredging fleet―potentially seven cutterheads, five large hoppers and a dozen scows―for the emergency delivery of roughly 45 miles of permitted projects (of 128 miles sought) of barrier berm on the Louisiana coast... that state officials hope will protect inland marshes from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The problem is, a lot of the equipment already is occupied elsewhere. Photo: Courtesy of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. Big dredges operate with their own fleets of as many as 30 support vessels
Louisiana’s Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration awarded The Shaw Group Inc. the job as project manager on a $360-million project to construct berms along coastal barrier islands to stop the invasion of oil from the BP spill on delicate marshes. Related Links: Map of the project area on the west side of the Mississippi Delta Within 24 hours of signing the contract, Baton Rouge-based Shaw had two bucket dredges on their way to begin moving sand. The state signed emergency permits for the work late June 2, after it was announced that BP would fund the project as a
In a controversial emergency measure, BP will pay $360 million so Louisiana can build sand berms along six reaches of barrier islands in an effort to protect oil from invading the state’s delicate marshes and buffer against hurricane storm surge. Related Links: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decision to offer permits for emergency berming of six reaches of barrier islands around the Mississippi River Delta to prevent oil from entering marshes and bolster protections against storm surge. Map of the project area on the east side of the Mississippi Delta Map of the project area on the west side
The New Orleans District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is gearing up for the June 1 start of hurricane season with tests of communications procedures, emergency management and equipment operation, says Heath Jones, a Corps emergency management specialist. Photo: Angelle Bergeron/ENR Water pours out of discharge pumps at New Orleans�s Orleans Avenue Outfall Canal during hurricane preparedness drill May 27. Related Links: New Orleans Surge Protection Grows: Shielding the City's Achilles Heel Nearly five years after Hurricane Katrina brought widespread devastation to New Orleans, the city is better protected against potential storm surge than it has ever been,
With the rapid advance of work on a surge barrier on New Orleans� eastern flank, the city has substantially more protection against storm surge than it had just a year ago. Photo: Angelle Bergeron/ENR Vic Zillmer, USACE resident project manager atop the surge barrier stretching away toward its land tie-in to Chalmette levees. Photo: Angelle Bergeron/ENR New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu saluted the Corps for being �on task and on time� with the project and for building levees �better than before.� Left to right behind are Col. Robert Sinkler, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers� Hurricane Protection Office
A proposal to build “sand booms” to help keep the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico from fouling Louisiana wetlands may help jump-start long-dreamed-of schemes to re-nourish Louisiana’s barrier islands. Photo courtesy of Baggerwereld.com Van Oord’s 9-year-old hopper dredge Rotterdam has a 21,500 cubic meter capacity and can dredge in waters as deep as 60 m, and up to 120 m, with extensions. Van Oord has 100 vessels worldwide and claims its fleet is three times the size of the entire U.S. dredging fleet. Related Links: Oil-Spill Battlefront Spreads From Gulf to Washington, D.C. Setting Oil Spill Liability Limit:
The rig owner is claiming progress on capping a deepsea well gushing oil into the Gulf of Mexico, but, as Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) said on May 17, “We are nowhere close to the finish line. This disaster will not be over for Louisiana until our water and our shores are completely clean and our wildlife, our communities and our coastal industries are 100% restored.” + Image Illustration: Deepwater Horizon Recovery Team BP says it is managing to capture about 20% of the oil leaking from the Deepwater Horizon well by inserting a new drill tube into the fallen
For the most part, contractors have not yet been engaged in cleanup or remediation efforts to combat the flow of oil encroaching on the Gulf Coast. Photo: Courtesy of La. Dept. of Natural Resources Permits have been approved for closing two breaches opened by hurricanes at Elmers Island, La. HNTB Corporation, Kansas City, Mo. has contracts in place with both the State of Louisiana Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration and with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District, that would allow either the state or the Corps to hire HNTB immediately. However, HNTB is currently engaged only