Granite Construction has been awarded a $72 million contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to build new outlet structures at the Addicks and Barker Dams in Houston.
Granite will book the project into backlog during the third quarter of 2015.
Granite will be responsible for the construction of new intake towers, steel-lined conduits, parabolic chute slabs, stilling basins, cutoff walls and downstream filters, in addition to the grouting and decommissioning of the existing outlet structures in place at both dams. There will also be an additional seepage cutoff wall at Barker Dam.
Construction is scheduled to begin in in the fourth quarter of 2015. Following completion of the new structures, the temporary cofferdams will be removed and the site restored. Completion of the project is scheduled for May 2019.
More than a half century ago, in response to devastating floods that occurred in Houston in 1929 and 1935, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began construction of Addicks and Barker Dams in what was then undeveloped areas in far west Harris and east Fort Bend counties. This undertaking was a milestone in a longstanding partnership between the Corps and the greater Houston community.
Addicks and Barker reservoirs are located near the intersection of I-10 and State Highway 6, in an area considered to be in the upper watershed of Buffalo Bayou. They provide flood damage reduction along Buffalo Bayou downstream of the reservoirs and through the center of Houston.
But like much of our national infrastructure, Addicks and Barker have been around a long time. The Corps continually inspects all of its dams nationwide under its Dam Safety Program, a program that shows our commitment to protecting lives, property and the environment by ensuring that all dams are designed, constructed, operated and maintained as safely and effectively as possible. The Corps’ Dam Safety Program provides a framework to ensure that both short and long-term solutions are studied and applied and helps to ensure public safety for local communities.