Jersey City Medical Center was negatively impacted, both physically and operationally, by inundation during Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The Project involves the construction of flood mitigation measures at JCMC’s Wilzig Hospital in accordance with the flood mitigation strategy as part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) Hazard Mitigation. This hospital is a 24/7 trauma center in an extremely populated urban environment Construction consists of 1,500 LF of a floodwall (500 LF of deployable, 1,000 LF of concrete) around the existing hospital, including two main entrances.
All work will be done in an efficient manner to not affect hospital operations, as they will be fully operational during construction. Utilities, pump stations, new loading dock and interior flood mitigation measures (retractable flood gates) will be built to further protect hospital critical operations Construction will include, among other things, protection of the Hospital’s exterior walls, windows and openings, replacement of the central expansion joint, backflow prevention, additional protection for critical infrastructure and programmatic spaces, and provision of dewatering pumps and protect the campus exterior to a design flood elevation of 18 feet along with additional mitigation measures to protect critical interior infrastructure rooms and programmatic support services and clinical departments.
This project would return a greater portion of natural flow to the main stream of the Neuse River, providing uplift in ecological function to include increased food supply, increased velocity and improvement in successful fish migration upstream.
The original Federal project was constructed for the purpose of flood control along a segment of the Neuse River. Due to the negative impacts of flooding, particularly to agriculture, in 1941, Congress authorized the excavation of a cutoff channel approximately 6,400 feet long by-passed about 7.7 miles of the main stem of the Neuse. Within the cutoff channel, a low-head weir was constructed to divert portions of the main stem flow into the cutoff channel during higher flows. The intended effect was a reduction in flood risk along the 7.7 by-passed section of the Neuse River.
Due to environmental concerns that the reduced flow in the by-passed portion of the Neuse River is having a negative impact on riverine functionality and fish migration success. The diversion of flow into the cutoff channel reduces velocity and increases water surface area in the main stem.
Conti will perform construction of the new sheet pile weir and rip rap scour protection. Work also includes cutting the original USACE weir below grade and removing the temporary section 408 weir and construction of stone access road and incidental related work.
Overcoming many obstacles, Conti completed the last segment of this huge flood wall 30% ahead of schedule to bring New Orleans levees up to the 100-year flood protection level before the next hurricane season.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) set out to complete the Hurricane Storm Damage Risk Reduction System, bringing New Orleans levees up to the 100-year flood protection level. This program entailed an epic scope of engineering rarely seen to construct 350 miles of taller, stronger floodwalls. Conti delivered the last contract awarded, the Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity 149 Project, as the final link in this network of levees.
Conti was the self-perform contractor for this milestone project which included building an enormous floodwall along the Caernarvon Canal with ties into the Mississippi River levee, the largest highway roller gate in the LPV system, a massive in-water sector gate across the canal and a railroad swing gate. The project was on a virgin swamp in an active environment with busy rail, vehicular and maritime traffic.
With zero room for error, Conti and USACE collaborated in a model partnership with local businesses to work at an extremely rapid pace. The team constructed 56 T-wall structures 30 days ahead of schedule, installed the railroad shoofly in a record-breaking 14 days and worked 24/7 for over 80% of the project to meet the June deadline in 11 months instead of 16 months, shaving off nearly 30% of the schedule. Conti also used 3D modeling to assess space conflicts in the sector gate design.
The team completed the project on budget with 182,000 work hours and zero lost time injuries, receiving numerous industry awards for excellence.
This critical project earned Conti Engineering News-Record’s Best Project of the Year, Merit Award for Civil Infrastructure, ABC New Orleans’ Award of Excellence, USACE Mississippi Valley Commander’s Coin and USACE New Orleans’ Superior Safety performance award for no lost time incidents.
The goal of this project is to achieve 100-year flood protection and to serve the Plaquemines Parish by maintaining a safe hurricane evacuation route to the northern parts of Louisiana.
The goal of this project is to achieve 100-year flood protection and to serve the Plaquemines Parish by maintaining a safe hurricane evacuation route to the northern parts of Louisiana.
The WBV-9c Project for the Hero Canal to Oakville Highway 23 Crossing is part of the Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS) implemented by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in the New Orleans area in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The HSDRRS includes the construction of many miles of floodwalls and levees for the West Bank and Vicinity of the Mississippi River.
Conti constructed two 53-foot wide swing gates across Louisiana’s busy Highway 23, a 25-foot-wide swing gate across existing active railroad tracks and T-wall floodwalls that tie in to other HSDRRS projects. The project also included work around the active highway and under the railroad, utility relocations, drainage work, fertilizing, seeding, excavation, clearing and grubbing and asphalt paving. The success of this project required Conti’s project team to execute complicated planning and coordination efforts over the course of two years on an aggressive schedule concurrently with other projects in the area to beat the flood season. The team accelerated the project schedule by using more accurate utility relocation methods and fabricating the large floodgates in its shop.
Conti regularly coordinated with the USACE and key stakeholders, including the New Orleans and Gulf Coast Railroad to maximize active rail service windows and with the Louisiana DOT to keep highway traffic lanes open during construction.
Conti provided the community with critical improvements to Louisiana’s hurricane protection system.
To reduce damages from rainfall flooding in New Orleans and the surrounding parishes, the Southeast Louisiana (SELA) Drainage Program constructed new pumping stations and better drainage canals and culverts throughout the area.
Originally authorized in 1996, Congress appropriated federal funds to develop solutions to the flooding problems in Orleans, Jefferson and St. Tammany parishes in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) started working on these flood protection projects to protect against a ten-year rainfall event and reduce damages for larger events.
Conti constructed SELA-07b consisting of three 84-inch cement lined steel pipes connecting the discharge pipes from a pump station to a levee crossing and outlet structure for discharge into the Mississippi River. Work included construction and modification of existing utilities, construction of two pump stations including concrete foundations and fiberglass wet wells, pile driving, installation of waterline, mass excavation and hauling, asphalt and concrete paving, dewatering, construction of temporary retaining structures, stone and bedding construction, structural excavation, backfill and demolition.
Conti laid as much as 600 linear feet of pipe per month and coordinated with USACE, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, the local utility company and Jefferson Parish to redesign the traffic configuration, temporary retaining structure (TRS) and dewatering system to improve efficiency.
The pump stations, drainage canals and culverts will divert storm water to mitigate future flooding in areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
The impact of the catastrophic damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 is still felt by the New Orleans region almost 10 years later.
In the aftermath of the storm, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) called for action by implementing the Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS) for 100-year flood protection. The latest installment in this program is the West Bank and Vicinity (WBV) Mississippi River Levee (MRL) 4.2 project in Plaquemines Parish from Turn Bend to Belle Chase. This project improves hurricane and flood control protection, decreasing future damage potential.
Conti constructed approximately 6,589 linear feet of new concrete floodwall stretching from Oak Road to the Belle Chase Ferry Landing. The floodwall has a final elevation of 24.5 feet. During the installation of the temporary flood protection, the existing concrete slope was degraded the team constructed four earthen ramps leading up to the floodgates. Each ramp has a “swing” or “roller” equipped with rubber seals for controlling leaks. The swing gates are hinged on one side and placed so flood water pressure will push on the gate in the direction of its swing when in the closed position. The roller gates are placed on the river side of the wall and slide into place.
Conti installed an additional 15 linear feet of new right-of-way, which is required on the protected side of the existing levee, creating roadway access for flood prevention and inspection purposes running on top of the levee adjacent to the floodwall.
Conti utilized a local workforce to complete this project. The new floodwall will meet the standards USACE set for 100-year flood control protection for the Plaquemines Parish community. This project was awarded as an ENR Texas/Louisiana Region Best Project for the team’s excellent work.
Conti’s floodwall will provide 100-year flood protection to the 23,000 residents of Plaquemines Parish.
US 17 in Downtown Charleston, known as the Crosstown, is a major artery for the City and has been plagued with flooding for many years. It is critical that this route remain an efficient lifeline for emergency response vehicles, commuters, and those evacuating in times of imminent hurricanes.
This drainage project will offer a solution to alleviate frequent flooding that causes property damage and heavy traffic along this critical corridor. It will improve drainage in an area that covers approximately 20% of the City of Charleston.
In previous phases of the project, new stormwater pipe was installed and new tunnels were installed beneath the US 17 / Crosstown corridor.
Conti is working on Phase 4 of this project, which consists of the construction of a pump station / wet well structure and a cast-in-place triple box culvert outfall structure into the Ashley River.
Once all phases are complete, the new pump station between the Ashley River Bridges will be equipped with three pumps each capable of pumping 120,000 gallons per minute, three 850 horsepower diesel engines to power the pumps (thereby eliminating the need for electricity to run the pumps), and one back-up diesel generator to run the electrical and control systems in the event of a power failure.
Once the project is complete and the pump station is online, the Crosstown and surrounding areas should remain passable in all but the very worst storm events.