Seabees repair vital roadway in Al Anbar province, Iraq

Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Nicole Harmon | Construction crews from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 24, repair a roadway located at a wadi crossing and install Hesco barriers to prevent erosion of the embankments near Kabanah in the Al Anbar province of Iraq May 13.  

KABANAH, IRAQ

05.11.2009

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Nicole Harmon 

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 24

KABANAH, Iraq - Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 24 recently completed a complex road repair project in the Al Anbar province of Iraq, tasked to them by the II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward). A flood in the winter of 2008 washed out the area where the roadway crossed a normally dry river bed, locally referred to as a wadi crossing, which created an impassable area for both local Iraqis and coalition forces.

NMCB 24 was tasked with repairing the much needed route. An initial ground survey and assessment of the area was made by the battalion's operations department.

The project required not only a construction crew, but also a security team for the personnel required to live on site for the duration of the mission. The necessity for battalion-provided security was a first-time event for NMCB 24, where as in the past security has typically been provided by Marine units.

A joint force of more than four dozen construction and security personnel arrived in the area to begin work on May 11, anticipating that the project would last approximately two weeks. Through hard and persistent work, the Seabees completed the project with a little more than a week to spare.

Once the work site was secured, equipment operators began grading and clearing the area. The original roadway was graded, and the embankments were cut back to provide a more gradual downward slope into the river bed from both northbound and southbound travel. Debris was also cleared from the existing concrete placed at the center of the wadi floor between the banks, allowing for a more stable travel surface.

Convoy Security Element teams assisted in escorting tractor trailer convoys of rock and other material needed to repair the roadway. The construction project required more than 45,000 cubic yards of material, as well as 500 cubic yards of rock. As the project progressed well ahead of schedule, the decision was made to also install an additional 400 linear feet of Hesco barriers, which are cloth and wire bags that, once filled with dirt and rock, provide a barrier wall.

The berrierss were placed at angles on both sides of the wadi, creating a v-shape to funnel any future flood waters through the center of the road and away from the banks. These barriers will extend the life of the new roadwork, as well as prevent excessive damage and erosion.

The reconstruction of the roadway allows for smoother travel on a paved surface for the local population, and the ability to bypass larger cities when travelling north or south through the area, versus utilizing the rougher and less-maintained desert roads. The repairs will also be a great logistics and security benefit for US troops.

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 24 is headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama. It is a reserve unit, with home detachments located in the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and West Virginia. NMCB 24 began its second deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in the spring of 2009. Currently it is headquartered at Al Asad Air Base, Al Anbar province, Iraq.

• Date Taken: 05.11.2009
• Date Posted: 07.03.2009 16:04
• Story ID: 35953
• Location: KABANAH, IQ