New levee walls to be built deeper, stronger than before

[Rhiannon12866]

Corps still not sure why they failed in storm
Thursday, October 13, 2005
By John McQuaid

Washington bureau

WASHINGTON -- The Army Corps of Engineers is planning to repair New Orleans area levee breaches caused by Hurricane Katrina with fortified walls much stronger than the originals, design documents show.

Where some floodwalls -- consisting of a concrete section mounted on a steel base -- collapsed, the corps wants bulkier concrete walls and significantly deeper steel anchors reinforced with concrete piles.

Corps officials say the new designs are intended to compensate for structural weaknesses caused by the breaches -- and for uncertainty over the strength of the original designs.

"At this time, we haven't fully understood the failure mechanisms at all of these locations," said Walter Baumy, chief of the engineering division of the corps' New Orleans district. He said the corps is getting feedback from engineering teams investigating the breaches and incorporating that into the designs.

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-4/112918402774430.xml

[Atman]

1. Sure, now that all the white people will be moving in!

What more can I say, eh?

[tk2kewl]

2. "New levee walls to be built deeper, stronger than before..."

... and don't forget the gun turrets every 100 feet

[Dora]

6. ...and the razor-wire. n/t

[Ezlivin]

3. Will they also rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic?

Does this strike anyone else as a pretty futile action?

Honestly, do we expect to best Mother Nature at her fiercest?

[expatriot]

4. i don't think "pre-Katrina" levels of protection will reassure the public.

The designs, in multimillion-dollar contracts put out for bid this week, are part of the corps' effort to restore pre-Katrina levels of storm-surge protection to the city by the start of the 2006 hurricane season in June, a schedule political leaders consider key to protecting and reassuring the public that it is safe to return to and live in the city. Baumy said the effort could cost $400 million.



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I think they'll want it stronger.

[Rhiannon12866]

11. I don't think much will reassure the public, at this point...

Strengthening the levees is just the tip of the iceberg, and this expensive proposal doesn't sound very reassuring, even to me. The damage to public confidence runs a great deal deeper than just the breeches of the levees. They're going to have to build public confidence in safety, on every possible level, from the ground up.;(

[Trillo]

5. So what?

Upon reading the first paragraph, my impression is they're spending money to make it appear they're fixing the problem.

The Army Corps of Engineers is planning to repair New Orleans area levee breaches caused by Hurricane Katrina with fortified walls much stronger than the originals, design documents show.

So what? Next time breaches will likely occur in the weakest wall areas: the areas that haven't been reinforced with the newer and stronger fortified walls.

[RaulGroom]

7. The Holy Grail

Other kings said I was daft to build a castle on a swamp, but I built it all the same, just to show 'em. It sank into the swamp. So, I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So, I built a third one. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp, but the fourth one... stayed up! And that's what you're gonna get, lad: the strongest castle in these islands.

[daleo]

8. They are going to be...more conservative," he said of the new wall

I'm just saying.

[mom cat]

9. Wonder who gets the bid...A Dem supporter from Louisiana? Sure.

[Rhiannon12866]

10. Probably the same folks who got the contracts in Mississippi.

They promised the reconstruction efforts to local firms, since they desperately need the work and the income, and it means something to them to participate in their own recovery. But they rescinded the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931, which guarantees a fair and living wage, and are giving out contracts to non-local firms with connections. In the case of Mississippi, locals have lost out to Florida firms which Haley Barbour represented in his lobbying days. Shades of Iraq reconstruction, but on our own shores, and making it impossible for locals to compete. The arrogance knows no bounds.:grr: