WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District is pleased to announce that today Colonial Surety Company has reached an agreement with Akima Construction Services, LLC to complete the construction of the levee closure structure at 17th Street, part of the Washington, D.C. Local Flood Protection Project.
The agreement between the surety and contractor was the next step in the process after the Corps terminated their original contractor in April 2013 for falling behind schedule by more than a year.
“We are thrilled that this agreement was made,” said Col. Trey Jordan, Baltimore District commander. “We look forward to getting back to the important job of reducing the risk of flooding to downtown Washington, D.C.,” he said.
Akima is expected to be onsite by Oct. 7. The work that remains includes sidewalk paving and manufacturing the remaining posts and panels, which are the main elements of the structure. The posts and panels are placed into the structure during a high water event in order to prevent localized flooding.
Work is expected to be completed by the end of summer 2014, when the structure will be turned over to the National Park Service to operate and maintain.
The $4.1 million closure structure at 17th Street is being built to reduce flood risks up to a 100-year level flood event, which is the flood elevation that has a 1 percent chance of being equaled or exceeded each year.
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Release no. 13-027