TEAM DIGS IN TO REDUCE STORM FLOOD RISKS

BY SUSAN JACKSON AND CATALINA CARRASCO, Jacksonville District

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Jacksonville District turned megatons of dirt and sand in the past year as it executed disaster-recovery projects in Florida and Puerto Rico. And, by the end of this year, officials anticipate executing 60-plus contracts to keep the focus on reducing risk.

Jacksonville District’s massive effort will make a significant difference in helping protect millions of people and their communities damaged by hurricanes Maria and Irma.

“This is an opportunity for us to make tomorrow better for many Americans, and we’re in warp drive to get the job done,” said Col. Drew Kelly, district commander.

“From reducing risks to dozens of coastal communities in Florida, to massive inland flood damage reduction projects in storm-damaged Puerto Rico, these projects are improving the safety and quality of life for the citizens and communities that we serve, contributing to the economy, and putting people to work,” he said.

The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-123) and Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies (FCCE) funds are providing the district with roughly $4 billion for disaster recovery work. The FCCE funds allowed teams to immediately start repairs on federal risk reduction projects. Six county shore projects are in various phases of work today and two more are already completed.

The district completed the full restoration of the Duval County Shore Protection Project in January, placing sand on 8 miles of critically eroded shoreline. The American Beach and Shore Preservation Association nationally recognized this project in May as one of the nation’s best-restored beaches for 2019. Outstanding teamwork led to finishing major back-to-back sand nourishments after two wicked hurricanes – Matthew in 2016 and Irma in 2017 – to ensure protection was in place prior to the following hurricane season.

“The team’s emergency preparedness and response restored the beach in record time,” Project Manager Jason Harrah said. The team took advantage of existing beach construction contracts to cost-effectively make the repairs after Matthew, and again following Irma, he said.

Jacksonville District completes the Duval County Shore Protection Project for the second time in January 2019, restoring it to pre-Hurricane Irma conditions.

USACE Photo by Mark Bias

Innovation isn’t just a word; it’s a way of doing business to get massive and challenging work done.

A $387 million base multiple-award task order contract awarded in January 2019 expedited construction on 28.6 miles of seepage cutoff wall in the 143-mile Herbert Hoover Dike, which surrounds Lake Okeechobee, the largest lake in Florida. The district also awarded a regional Indefinite quantity delivery multiple-award task order contract for maintenance dredging and shore protection projects within the South Atlantic Division area of operations. The contract is valued at $450 million and addresses 23 projects, with the majority of them in Florida.

The district team is also making great strides in Puerto Rico on several massive flood risk reduction projects that will help protect thousands of residents. A few examples are the Rio de La Plata project in Dorado and the Rio Puerto Nuevo project in Metropolitan San Juan.

In March 2019, a groundbreaking ceremony took place for the Rio de La Plata project. The $17.3 million project will extend the western levee and straighten the existing La Plata River along with scour protection to the existing Dorado Bridge. Construction will happen in three phases over the next two and a half years.

The Rio Puerto Nuevo project, which was appropriated $1.552 billion under the 2018 Bipartisan Budget Act, includes the Rio Piedras Drainage Basin and its tributaries, which drain 24 square miles. The majority of the project area is highly developed, with an affected population of 250,000 and commercial and public structures valued at more than $3 billion. The project includes six discrete project segments that will be constructed through separate contracts between now and 2027.

“We have the opportunity to build a generation of infrastructure in Puerto Rico to reduce risk and help protect populations from future events,” Kelly said.

In tandem with the non-federal sponsor, the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources, USACE has hosted several public meetings to inform residents about the projects, the affected areas, and the benefits the projects will provide to the communities in addition to hosting Industry Day events both in person and via the internet.

“We’re very interested in sharing the projects with members of industry,” said Milan Mora, Antilles Section chief, “as well as hearing what they may bring to the table in terms of workforce expertise, equipment, materials, and more.”

USACE has extensive flood-control experience in Puerto Rico, including the construction of the Portugués and Cerrillos dams, multimillion dollar projects to reduce flooding impacts in Ponce from the Portugués and Bucaná rivers. Those USACE projects withstood the devastating hurricane events of 2017.

“As we add new infrastructure there, we want to make sure it’s built to the same standards and level of resilience,” said Deputy District Engineer for Programs and Project Management Tim Murphy.