GALVESTON, Texas– On March 30, the Galveston District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $16.9 million contract to Great Lakes Environmental and Infrastructure LLC of Rocklin, California, for repairs and raises to the Port Arthur Coastal Storm Risk Management System.
“This contract is a major milestone for the Sabine Pass to Galveston Bay, Texas Coastal Storm Risk Management and Ecosystem Restoration project as the first contract to move dirt,” said Charles Wheeler, USACE Galveston District project manager. “The contract will reconstruct and raise approximately 1.1 miles of levee embankment on the Port Arthur and Vicinity Levee System and repair 5 different locations for levee embankment slope failures, which were a result of prior storm events”
According to Wheeler, work is scheduled to begin in April 2020, with an estimated completion by August 2021.
"This is the first of many construction contracts to be awarded to support the Sabine Pass to Galveston Bay Project," said Jeffrey Neill, chief of contracting with USACE Galveston District.
Public Law 115-123, aka the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, was enacted in February 2018 to provide funding for construction projects designed to reduce flood and storm damage in areas of the U.S. that were hard hit by major flooding disasters such as Hurricane Harvey along the Texas Gulf Coast.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Southwestern Division established the $5.2 billion Hurricane Damage Reconstruction and Risk Reduction Program. The program comprises 40 projects across three states (Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas) and will provide critical, enhanced flood risk reduction measures to the region. All work in the program is expected to be complete by 2027. Sabine Pass to Galveston Bay, including the Port Arthur system, was included in the list of Long-Term Disaster Recovery Investment Program projects to receive funding.
USACE Galveston District is partnering with Jefferson County Drainage District No. 7 to raise, construct, or reconstruct the existing earthen levee and floodwall Coastal Storm Risk Management System in Port Arthur and Vicinity.
"As the Non-Federal Sponsor of the Sabine Pass to Galveston Bay Project, Jefferson County Drainage District No. 7 is pleased to be partnered with the Corps of Engineers on this very important project,” said Phil Kelley, general manager of Jefferson County Drainage District No. 7. “The award of the first contract is a milestone that was achieved in a timely manner and can be attributed to a positive working relationship between the Corps and Non-Federal Sponsor.”
USACE Galveston was established in 1880 as the first USACE district in Texas. Originally tasked with overseeing river and harbor improvements, the district is currently responsible for maintaining more than 1,000 miles of channel, as well as the Colorado River Locks and Brazos River Floodgates. Galveston District is growing with the region to manage the multi-billion dollar water programs that will enable economic growth, while protecting the people and environment of America’s Energy Coast.
For more news and information, visit https://www.swd.usace.army.mil/Missions/SWD-Hurricane-Harvey-Supplemental-Program/ and www.swg.usace.army.mil. Find us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/GalvestonDistrict.