When Army Corps of Engineers contractors pounded the last of the steel-reinforced, 140-foot-long concrete "soldier" pilings deep into the marsh and clay that underlies the MR-GO and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, it marked the ceremonial end of an era. The work closes a shipping corridor that destroyed critical marsh and made the region more vulnerable to hurricanes.
Each piling is 66 inches in diameter and had to be moved into place using three of the five largest cranes available in the United States, corps representatives said. Once in place, cages of steel rebar were lowered into each piling before they were filled with concrete. (taken from the TimesPic)
At the website, MRGO must go, they've listed five broad-scale initiatives needed to fix damage caused by MRGO and protect people from hurricanes. Included with each initiative are the projects necessary to reach the goal of each task, the benefits from each project, the existing committments and the next critical steps.
MRGO, as you may recall, was instrumental in the flooding of the Ninth Ward, New Orleans East and St. Bernard Parish during Katrina.
This is one small step towards saving Louisiana's coastline.
1 comment:
Look again at that graphic from The Times-Picayune and you'll see that the storm surge does not flow up that narrow shipping channel we call the MRGO--the storm surge comes from Lake Borgne. I'm glad my friends in St.Bernard and New Orleans East feel better now that the MRGO is blocked. It is certainly good news that the funnel is now closed. But a storm surge will have to go somewhere, and until the MRGO and GIWW levees on either side of the new barrier are raised, there remains considerable risk in the event of a storm.
Peace,
Tim
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