Army Corps awards $65.8 million floodgate project in Plaquemines  Construction and Real Estate

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, announced on Wednesday, that a $65.8 million contract for construction of a critical floodgate in Plaquemines Parish has been awarded to Kiewit-Pittman, a Metairie-based joint venture formed of Kiewitt Louisiana Co. and M.R. Pittman Group, provided the cost among the six bidders competing for the project.

The amount will also be utilized for the demolition of the present structure in Empire as part of the New Orleans to Venice/Non-Federal Levee (NOV/NFL) projects.

The project is scheduled for completion by July 2017.

The scope of work involves dredging a new bypass channel and construction of a new floodgate structure. It will cover the related mechanical and electrical systems, a new storage platform, a new floodwall with riprap boundary and embankments, a new channel with riprap erosion protection, a new guide wall and new rock dike.

The contract is the 13th of 17 tied to the NOV/NFL projects, a $1.4 billion attempt to enhance substandard dams that have plagued Plaquemines Parish. The upgrades will facilitate 50-year storm protection on around 60 miles of levees on both sides of the Mississippi River, says, Rene Poche, Corps spokesman.

The NOV/NFL projects are two independent projects being build up on a interdependent timeline. The NOV project covers around 37 miles of back levee modifications, fronting protection and two sector gates on the west bank of the Mississippi River, and floodwall fronting protection at two positions on the east bank.

The NFL project area on the west bank, where the federally sanctioned West Bank and Vicinity project ends in Oakville. The project covers around 20 miles of back levee replacements or modifications and a tie-in to the Mississippi River levees.