The New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has completed an updated certified total project cost for the West Shore Lake Pontchartrain hurricane and storm damage risk reduction system.
In order to deliver the project to its authorized levee elevations, and complete the system’s pump stations and drainage structures, about $1.27B will be required in additional funding.
Another $1.7B will be needed for environmental impact mitigation efforts and future levee lifts to ensure the authorized level of risk reduction is maintained for the duration of the project’s 50-year design life.
The Corps is pressing forward in completing ongoing work and will be awarding new construction contracts. Simultaneously, the Corps is pursuing options for securing additional funds required to deliver the system that will reduce hurricane storm damage risk for more than 60,000 residents in St. Charles, St. James and St. John the Baptist parishes, says Col. Cullen Jones, New Orleans District Commander.
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 committed $760M for design/construction of the storm damage risk reduction system. Those funds were applied towards more than $100M in active construction. The available funds will be used to award an additional five construction contracts by early FY 2024 and to finalize the system’s design.
The initial project cost was based on 2014 economic conditions and preliminary designs to determine the feasibility of the project. The updated project cost is $3.7B and includes future levee lifts, operations, maintenance, monitoring costs and advanced engineering designs.
The completed project will provide a 1-percent level of risk reduction through a combination of structural and non-structural features. (NOLA.com 07/30/23) Longer levee, fewer home elevations in Tammany flood plan | One Tammany | nola.com
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