The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, has awarded a contract to replace two water control structures in Herbert Hoover Dike as part of the ongoing rehabilitation project for the earthen structure surrounding Lake Okeechobee.
The Corps awarded the contract Aug. 30 for $31.8 million to Thalle Construction Company of Hillsborough, N.C. The contract calls for replacement of Culverts 5 (S-282) and 5A (S-281) north of Moore Haven in Glades 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.
“Replacing these water control structures is part of our system-wide approach on this project, where we work on those items that reduce risk of the entire dike as opposed to focusing on a specific geographic area ,” said Tim Willadsen, Herbert Hoover Dike Rehabilitation Project Manager. “ The water control structures were identified as a potential source of failure due to loss of embankment material into and around them. Replacing these structures will reduce the risk.”
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 12 of the structures, with contracts expected to be awarded on another four structures by the end of September. 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.
Hebert Hoover Dike is a 143-mile, earthen levee that surrounds Lake Okeechobee, the second largest freshwater lake in the United States.
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Press Release, September 5, 2013