Now that the floodwaters of spring and summer have receded, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has identified 93 critical areas of damage in the Mississippi River and tributaries (MR&T) system that won’t survive another flood without great risk to life. But the Corps only has the money to fix the top 10.The top 10 projects on the Corps' list would cost $75.8 million. The agency released those and an additional $704 million worth of critical projects to a meeting of the Interagency Recovery Task Force in New Orleans October 20. The Corps formed the IRTF to work with federal

Photo courtesy of USACE As the Mississippi River swelled to dangerous levels last spring, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prepared to open floodways by blowing levees. Nervous populations downstream craved information about the actions and consequences. By launching a Facebook page, the Corps found it could quickly deliver critical information on the unfolding situation to the people who needed it most. The response was enormous. Photo courtesy of USACE Last spring, faced with the need to disseminate quickly updates and information to an affected constituency about the probable need to blow a levee to relieve flood pressures, the Corps

Image courtesy of Common Ground Alliance Call before you dig. It's that simple. If an excavator dials 811 or a local one-call center before digging, damage to underground utility lines and the people who dig near them occurs less than 1% of the time, according to the 2010 Damage Information Reporting Tool Report released on Oct.12 by the Common Ground Alliance (CGA).“A call to the one-call center or 811 is the simplest and most effective way to reduce or eliminate excavation-related underground-utility damages,” says Robert Kipp, CGA president.The 2010 Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) Report also estimates that the total

Photo courtesy of La DOTD Data cables and sensors join rebar and hand tools as elements of the construction landscape on the I-10 Twin Span Bridge. Photo courtesy of Geocomp Rebar cages for columns on the M19 pier are laced with cables and sensors, which were put to early use in a load test to simulate the 1.8-million-lb lateral load of a ship collision. Related Links: How Sensors on I-10 Twin Span Bridge Reduce Unknowns When the power is activated on the new 5.4-mile-long, $803-million I-10 Twin Span Bridge outside of New Orleans in October, it will transform an icon

Photo courtesy of Geocomp A sampling of one of the sensors on the Twin Span Bridge. Related Links: New Orleans Bridge Raises Bar On Embedded Sensor Technology Well before embedded instrumentation delivered data from a February 2009 lateral load test of a bent and pier of the I-10 Twin Span Bridge in New Orleans—and long before the sensors begin a life of service as long-term structural-health monitoring aids this October—devices cast into the bridge's structure were presenting a wealth of data to the industry.“The instruments that are in the pile foundations had to be placed in the rebar cages for

The Army Corps of Engineers did not comply with requirements last April in a $675-million design-build contract award for New Orleans flood defenses, the U.S. Government Accountability Office ruled on Aug. 4 in a bid protest decision.CBY Design Builders, a team led by CDM, Cambridge, Mass., won the contract for the so-called Permanent Canal Closures and Pump stations project, set to finish in 2014. GAO upheld protests by a Kiewit Corp.-led team and Bechtel Infrastructure Corp. GAO did not release its ruling or even a version redacting competitive details by ENR press time on Aug. 8. In a statement, it

When traffic flows on all six lanes of the new $803-million Interstate-10 Twin Spans in New Orleans this September, the region that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 will receive a much-needed symbol of recovery. Related Links: Demoed Lake Pontchartrain Bridge Keeps on Giving While relief can't come soon enough for area residents, the Twin Spans' build team worked diligently to fast track the project, which is scheduled to open almost a year ahead of schedule.The bridge connects east-west I-10 traffic over Lake Pontchartrain. Katrina's 30-ft storm surge on Aug. 29, 2005, tore apart the 1960s-era crossing with uplift

When the 5.5-mile Interstate-10 Twins Spans crossing over Lake Pontchartrain was beaten up during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, it seemed to spell the end for the well-used structure. But the team rebuilding it devised a way for its debris to keep giving back to local residents. Photo courtesy of Louisiana Dept of Transportation and Development Contractors are using debris from more than nine miles of demolished bridges on Lake Pontchartrain to build artificial reefs for local marine wildlife. The demolished bridges have been repurposed to create a new fishing pier on the north side of the lake. And old materials

Photo courtesy of USACE Instrument packages at 28 points along the 7.5-mile levee include spider magnetometers, which slide down a tube as the soil below the levee compresses. Clusters also include two inclinometers that bow out of plumb in response to horizontal soil movement and settlement plates buried in the new lifts to measure placement and consolidation in the new work zone. A benchmark, anchored in a stable sand layer, completes the package. + Image Infographic courtesy of USACE Inclinometers bow out of plumb in response to horizontal soil movement and settlement plates buried in the new lifts. Related Links:

Photo by Angelle Bergeron for ENR Disputed project would replace temporary system of canal gate closures and pumps. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not comply with statutory and regulatory requirements in its award last April of a $675-million design-build contract for flood control upgrades in New Orleans, the U.S. Government Accountability Office ruled Aug. 4 in a bid protest decision.The Corps did not comment on the decision or provide details on how it will respond.GAO upheld protests by two losing bidders:PCCP Constructors, a Fort Worth-based joint venture of Kiewit Corp., Traylor Bros. Inc, and M.R. Pittman Group; and