Hurricane Protection
- Plaquemine's Parish – ROW Stockpile Reconnaissance
Plaquemine's Parish, Louisiana
the challengeThe US Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District Hurricane Protection Office (USACE-HPO) contracted with The Bioengineering Group to provide field reconnaissance of each project location from NOV (New Orleans to Venice) 01 - 16 in Plaquemines Parish, LA, and to identify potential stockpile locations within existing Right-of-Ways (ROW). The identified areas and Access Haul Routes were to be shown on the plates provided by the USACE-HPO.
the interdisciplinary approachThe USACE-HPO identified PP#1, Brad Buras, 3 through 6, 8, and 11 as potential Material and Equipment Storage (MES) sites to stockpile material for replenishing the stockpile areas within the ROW identified during the field visits. An equipment storage area (area = 10,000 sq ft) will be located within each site to house dumps, dozers, etc. Each equipment storage area will be cordoned-off by a 3-foot high berm in order to provide a physical barrier and prevent any spillage of material into adjacent sites and water bodies. Haul roads (30’ wide) will be provided for truck traffic across the required length within each MES site.
The Access Haul Route (AHR) will be utilized to replenish material for the stockpile areas within the ROW. They are designed to connect the MES site to the stockpile areas within the ROW. The Bioengineering Group personnel surveyed NOV-1, 2, and 5 through 12 to access the possible stockpile areas within the ROW of each project. They also summarized the net available stockpile areas, volumes for each MES site and possible allotments for refilling stockpile areas within the ROW.
the resultsThe material used to replenish the stockpile areas within the ROW are designated as follows: NOV-1 and 2 from PP#4, NOV-6 from PP#3, NOV-5 and 9 from PP#8, NOV-7 and 8 from PP#6, NOV-10 and 11 from PP#5, and NOV-12 from Brad Buras. NOV-9 and 10 do not have any stockpile areas within their ROW and therefore have to use other stockpile areas. All materials can be hauled along Hwy 23 to the existing dirt roads that connect Hwy 23 to the NOV levees. These dirt roads also cross existing bridges that go over the canals. The existing bridges have been identified as capable of handling the truck and material loads. The existing dirt roads can be upgraded to meet the 30-foot wide criteria for AHRs. After crossing over the existing bridges, another haul road can be created to tie into the stockpile areas within the ROW. There is also an existing road that parallels the NOV areas. This road can be utilized as an AHR for adjacent stockpile areas within the ROW.