Corps awards contract for dike rehabilitation

Published Sept. 18, 2015

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District has awarded a contract to replace a water control structure within Herbert Hoover Dike (HHD) as part of the ongoing rehabilitation project for the earthen structure surrounding Lake Okeechobee.
 
The Corps awarded the contract Sept. 11 for $49.9 million to Harry Pepper & Associates of Jacksonville, Fla.  The contract calls for replacement of Culvert 10A (S-271) near Canal Point along the east side of the lake.  The water control structures provide irrigation and drainage to landowners in the area.  Work on this project is expected to be complete by the summer of 2020. 
 
“With this award, we now have all water control structures on the southern half of the dike under contract for replacement,” said Tim Willadsen, Herbert Hoover Dike Rehabilitation Project Manager. “These water control structures were identified as potential sources of failure due to loss of material around them.  Replacing these structures reduces the risk of dike failure.”

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 20 of the structures, including all structures between Moore Haven and Port Mayaca on the southern shore of the lake.  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 $500 million. 

Hebert Hoover Dike is a 143-mile, earthen levee that surrounds Lake Okeechobee, the second largest freshwater lake completely within the United States. 

For more information on the Herbert Hoover Dike project, visit the Jacksonville District website at http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/CivilWorks/LakeOkeechobee/HerbertHooverDike.aspx

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Contact
John Campbell
904-232-1004
john.h.campbell@usace.army.mil

Release no. 15-085