The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, has awarded its third contract over the past month to replace two additional water control structures in Herbert Hoover Dike (HHD) as part of the ongoing rehabilitation project for the earthen structure surrounding Lake Okeechobee.
The Corps awarded the contract Sept. 27 for $36.1 million to Harry Pepper & Associates of Jacksonville, Fla. The contract calls for replacement of Culvert 8 (S-268) near Okeechobee along the north side of the lake and Culvert 13 (S-272) near Canal Point in Palm Beach County. The water control structures provide irrigation and drainage to landowners in the area. Work on this project is expected to be complete by the spring of 2017.
“ This award completes the contract solicitations we planned for fiscal year 2013, ” said Tim Willadsen, Herbert Hoover Dike Rehabilitation Project Manager . “ The design and bid packages have been worked for most of the past year. We are now ready to move ahead with the construction of the six structures that were awarded in 2013, and press forward with additional contract work in 2014.”
In 2011, the Corps began to replace or remove 32 federally-owned water control structures around the dike. With this contract, the Corps has taken action to address 16 of the structures. Other risk-reduction measures include installation of a partially penetrating cutoff wall between Port Mayaca and Belle Glade, the filling of a quarry near Pahokee, and removal of vegetation on the dike. The total investment since 2007 is more than $400 million.
[mappress]
Press Release, October 1, 2013