Mrgo And Inner Harbor Navigation Canal Surge Barrier Project Gets Under Way

摘要

A surge barrier, similar to a floodwall but much larger, is being built near the confluence of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) and the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO), generally running north-south from a point just east of Michoud Canal on the north bank of the GIWW and just south of the existing Bayou Bienvenue flood control structure. Navigation gates will be constructed where the barrier crosses the GIWW and Bayou Bienvenue to reduce the risk of storm surge coming from Lake Borgne and/or the Gulf of Mexico. Another navigation gate is planned for the Seabrook vicinity where the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC) meets Lake Pontchartrain, to block storm surge from entering the IHNC from there. The Army Corps of Engineers is committed to providing a 100-year level of risk reduction for southeast Louisiana in 2011 through its Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS). The HSDRRS seeks to upgrade existing flood protection features (such as levees and floodwalls) and introduce new features authorized by Congress and deemed necessary to complete the system. The Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC) surge barrier is a new feature, authorized by Congress in 2006, that will reduce the risk of storm damage to some of the region's most vulnerable areas -New Orleans East, metro New Orleans, the 9th Ward, and St. Bernard Parish.