Rubble from Katrina will be used in erosion control gabion mattresses

September 7, 2011 rockman Project Related Comments Off on Rubble from Katrina will be used in erosion control gabion mattresses
Hurricane Katrina damage to the Interstate 10 Twin Spans

Hurricane Katrina damage to the Interstate 10 Twin Spans

The I-10 Twin Spans bridges were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, but the concrete rubble from the structures will be used inside gabion mattresses to line a 7.8-mile stretch of the Lake Borgne shoreline to reduce erosion of the eastern New Orleans landbridge.

(Louisiana Governor Bobby) Jindal said recycling concrete from the I-10 bridge, instead of buying concrete for the project, resulted in a $11.55 million savings for the project. Concrete from the bridge also is being used to build fishery reefs in Lake Pontchartrain, and a fishing pier in Slidell.

[Source: NOLA.com via Geosynthetica.net News. Image: Brett Duke, The Times-Picayune archive (NOLA.com)]

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New Orleans Repeats Deadly Levee Blunders

August 25, 2008 rockman Geologic Hazards Comments Off on New Orleans Repeats Deadly Levee Blunders

That is the title of a Seattle Post-Intelligencer article on post-Katrina levee issues in New Orleans (by way of ASCE Smart Brief). I think the article is somewhat sensationalized, but they do cite some interesting parallels between the levee reconstruction efforts made after Katrina and the levee construction/reconstruction that occurred after Hurricane Betsy in 1965.

The article also discusses a recent US Army audit with some disturbing although not unexpected findings:

An initial September 2010 target to complete the $14.8 billion in post-Katrina work has slipped to mid-2011. Then last September, an Army audit found 84 percent of work behind schedule because of engineering complexities, environmental provisos and real estate transactions. The report added that costs would likely soar.

A more recent analysis shows the start of 84 of 156 projects was delayed – 15 of them by six months or more. Meanwhile, a critical analysis of what it would take to build even stronger protection – 500-year-type levees – was supposed to be done last December but remains unfinished.

[…]

Portion of the 17th St Canal in New Orleans, photographed August 20, 2010
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Corps of Engineers Planning Additiional Sheet-Piling and Deep Soil Mixing along New Orleans Levees

September 16, 2010 rockman Available Resources Comments Off on Corps of Engineers Planning Additiional Sheet-Piling and Deep Soil Mixing along New Orleans Levees

Complete plans have not been released yet, but an environmental impact document outlines general plans for stabilization of the 17th Street Canal in New Orleans using Deep Soil Mixing techniques. Portions of the London Avenue […]