The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, has awarded its second contract in the past two weeks 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 Sept. 13 for $36.3 million to Thalle Construction Company of Hillsborough, N.C. The contract calls for replacement of Culverts 10 (S-273) and 12 (S-275) between Pahokee and Belle Glade 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.
“We continue to move forward with our plan to replace water control structures as part of our ongoing effort to reduce the risk of failure on the dike,” said Tim Willadsen, Herbert Hoover Dike Rehabilitation Project Manager. “We’ve been working on these culverts for more than a year getting ready to award this contract. We are looking forward to the additional construction this contract represents.”
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 14 of the structures, with contracts expected to be awarded on another two 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.
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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Release no. 13-070