Jacobs Partners with Stantec on $1.9B U.S. Army Project to Design Levee and Flood Wall System; Pankaj Duggal, John Montgomery Quoted

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has selected Jacobs and Stantec to complete an eight-year, $1.9B levee and floodwall system project to increase the area’s preparedness to respond to natural disasters and disturbances, Jacobs reported on Friday.

“Jacobs will support, leveraging our specialized capabilities in sustainable and resilient infrastructure planning and design…we are creating a coastal spine that will help protect the Texas coast, providing a solution that not only benefits this area long-term, but the millions of people and businesses in this region that are most impacted by weather,” said Pankaj Duggal, senior vice president of federal and environmental solutions at Jacobs.

This area is repeatedly at risk from substantial wind and surge damage. The resulting shoreline erosion has caused the destruction of nationally significant wetlands, land loss and damage to homes, commercial property and State Highway 87. Over the past 10 years, the area has been altered both physically and economically by extreme weather events such as Hurricane Harvey, which caused billions in damages.

Jacobs and Stantec will provide support for the 26.7-mile-long levee and floodwall system along the coastline near Galveston, Texas, under the Orange County Coastal Storm Risk Management project. The companies will increase resistance to long-term impacts due to climate change, including sea level rise, land subsidence, increased frequency of abnormally heavy rainfall events and regional drought.

The Orange project will include 15.6 miles of new levees, 10.7 miles of new concrete flood walls and gates, seven new pump stations to mitigate interior flooding during surge events, 453 acres of marsh restored through a mitigation plan and 560 acres of preserved, forested wetlands. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2022 and project completion is expected in 2026.

“The economics of flood protection are changing, and proactive measures are critical to a community’s social and economic resilience strategy,” said John Montgomery, senior vice president and sector leader for water resources at Stantec. “Our JV consists of leading project management with a track record of delivering large-scale infrastructure projects that will reduce the impacts of disasters and fortify our domestic energy security.”

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