Inner Harbor Navigation Channel

To protect the New Orleans metro area from devastating floods generated by storm surge from the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Borgne, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) constructed a surge reduction barrier in the Inner Harbor Navigation Channel (IHNC). Volkert was under contract with the design-build team, providing quality control throughout the construction phase. The overall project is the largest design-build civil works project in USACE history.

Navigation gates at the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) and at Bayou Bienvenue allow maritime traffic between waterways. The Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC) GIWW Sector Gate Foundation Piles project is just one portion of the $1.2B IHNC Surge Reduction Barrier Project. Volkert’s responsibilities on the GIWW Sector Gate Foundation Piles included the inspection and reporting on pile driving and electronic pile driving analysis (PDA).

The floodwall is approximately 8,000 feet long and includes a 12-foot wide service roadway atop the pilings. Completed in October 2011, the final height of the floodwall is 25 feet above Mean Sea Level.