Tetra Tech led the design of the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC)–Lake Borgne Surge Barrier project in New Orleans, Louisiana to reduce hurricane risks while maintaining regional navigation.
The Lake Borgne Surge Barrier is the largest civil works design-build project in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) history. The project aimed to improve hurricane risk reduction for the New Orleans region following significant public concern about the reliability of the area’s remaining flood defenses. The barrier consists of a 10,000-foot-long, 26-foot-high concrete wall with three gates that allow vessel passage through the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) and Bayou Bienvenue, as well as a complete floodwall closure of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet. The barrier also needed to meet protection requirements before the upcoming hurricane season, creating an accelerated design and construction schedule.
Tetra Tech led the design of the $1.1 billion surge barrier project and provided design and management services to support fast-track construction. We developed the preliminary and final designs for an innovative 150-foot-wide buoyant sector gate at the GIWW, including the approach walls at the GIWW barge gate. Our team also designed the structural monoliths, towers, and foundations of a 56-foot-wide vertical lift gate and vehicular bridge at Bayou Bienvenue.
The GIWW sector gate was the first fully buoyant sector gate designed for USACE, allowing for streamlined installation and removal to support maintenance activities. Tetra Tech’s design and management services helped advance construction of one of the world’s most iconic storm barriers.
Benefits
- Delivered 100-year risk reduction just 37 months after award
- Enabled future modifications addressing climate change and land subsidence
- Designed the USACE’s first fully buoyant sector gate
- Incorporated sea-level rise and increasing storm intensity projections
The American Society of Civil Engineers awarded their 2014 Outstanding Projects and Leaders Award, the highest honor it can award, to the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal Project.