In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) set out to complete the Hurricane Storm Damage Risk Reduction System, bringing New Orleans levees up to the 100-year flood protection level. This program entailed an epic scope of engineering rarely seen to construct 350 miles of taller, stronger floodwalls. Conti Federal delivered the last contract awarded, the Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity 149 Project, as the final link in this network of levees.
Conti Federal was the self-perform contractor for this milestone project which included building an enormous floodwall along the Caernarvon Canal with ties into the Mississippi River levee, the largest highway roller gate in the LPV system, a massive in-water sector gate across the canal and a railroad swing gate. The project was on a virgin swamp in an active environment with busy rail, vehicular and maritime traffic.
With zero room for error, Conti Federal and USACE collaborated in a model partnership with local businesses to work at an extremely rapid pace. The team constructed 56 T-wall structures 30 days ahead of schedule, installed the railroad shoofly in a record-breaking 14 days and worked 24/7 for over 80% of the project to meet the June deadline in 11 months instead of 16 months, shaving off nearly 30% of the schedule. Conti Federal also used 3D modeling to assess space conflicts in the sector gate design.
Key features of the project included:
The team completed the project on budget with 182,000 work hours and zero lost time injuries, receiving numerous industry awards for excellence.
This project earned the following awards: Engineering News-Record magazine’s Award of Merit for Civil/Infrastructure for the Texas & Louisiana Region; Associated Builders and Contractors of New Orleans Award of Excellence; USACE Mississippi Valley Commander’s Coin; USACE New Orleans Superior Safety Performance Award for no lost time incidents.
