On May 14th, 2024, Colonel Cullen Jones, the U.S. Army Corps New Orleans District Commander, signed two documents that allow the Corps to continue progress on the Morganza to the Gulf Project.
This project, located in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, will reduce the risk of flooding due to storm surge for more than 52,000 structures and over 200,000 people in the area. Deterioration of coastal marshes due to saltwater intrusion, land subsidence and the lack of interchanges from the Mississippi River and Tributaries system have steadily increased storm surge inundation over time. The affected area was impacted significantly by Hurricane Ida in 2021.
The Morganza to the Gulf Project is a hurricane and storm damage risk reduction project and part of the Mississippi River and Tributaries system. The project is a 98-mile alignment consisting of earthen levees, floodgates, environmental water control structures, road/railroad gates and fronting protection for existing pump stations. Major project features include two floodgates in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) and a lock complex on the Houma Navigation Canal (HNC) consisting of a lock and an adjacent sector gate.
The Colonel Jones celebrated the milestone with the Morganza to the Gulf Project Delivery Team in New Orleans while he signed a Finding of No Significant Impact, or FONSI, and the Plans and Specifications for Morganza to the Gulf Reach A.
The non-Federal sponsors, Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District along with the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority have constructed over 80 miles of levees in the vicinity of the authorized Morganza to the Gulf levee system. However, in the area of Reach A, no levee segments have been constructed. Therefore, the city of Houma and surrounding communities remain vulnerable to flooding, storm surge, and sea level rise.
Acknowledging the sense of urgency, the Morganza to the Gulf team took on the charge to advance the greatest amount of risk reduction within Reach A as soon as possible, while minimizing or avoiding impacts to high quality wetland habitats and utilities within the project area. Though the full construction of the Reach A levee will be accomplished over several contracts, the team expedited the design of Contract 1, scheduled to be advertised at the end of May. Contract 1 will provide flood risk reduction to vulnerable communities along Bayou Dularge while other important design and impact considerations are developed and assessed.
Reach A set precedence for executing expedited design and environmental clearance two years early with the end goal of providing flood risk reduction for residents from Morganza to the Gulf of Mexico. After a series of meetings with the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters, the New Orleans District and the Mississippi Valley Division, MVN committed to tiering off the NEPA evaluation of Reach A once Independent Utility was established.
Further emphasis was placed on expedited efforts when, our Non-Federal Sponsor, Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District recognized the urgency of the construction of the Reach A levee as noted in the “Declaration of a State of Emergency—Imminent Threat of Flooding Due to the Reach A Gap in the Morganza to the Gulf Flood Risk Reduction System” that was signed on May 17, 2023. USACE’s efforts doubled to ensure Contract 1 would be awarded in July 2024.
Captain Ashley Branson, Project Manager, stated “The Morganza to the Gulf Project Delivery Team worked tirelessly to expedite their efforts. I am proud and honored to work with a purpose driven, passionate team.”
| Date Taken: | 05.15.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.15.2024 08:49 |
| Story ID: | 471312 |
| Location: | NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 77 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Morganza to the Gulf Reach A Signing Ceremony, by Melanie Oubre, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
