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Adams and Cow Bayou Value Engineering

SALIENT FEATURES

  •  Field Investigations

  •  Coastal Hurricane and Storm Damage Reduction

  •  Foundation Design

  •  Structural Concrete and Steel Design

  •  Structural Analysis

  •  Optimization

  •  Construction Cost: $1.4B

CLIENT

US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Galveston District

LOCATION:

Orange, Texas

BACKGROUND

OC03 and OC04 at Adam and Cow Bayou are two projects which were undertaken for the purpose of protecting the Orange area from storm surge. These projects span from highway 10 on the east side of Orange wrapping around the perimeter of Orange, West Orange, and Orange Field ending on the northeastern shore of Lower Neches Wildlife Management Area (WMA). infraTECH served as VE structural consultant.

PROJECT FEATURE

OC03 included the construction of a new sector gate and three vertical lift gates at the mouth of the Adams Bayou. OC04 included five pump stations and supporting floodwalls and levees to protect Orange County during hurricane events. As part of value engineering study, recommendations were made to optimize design of the Adams Bayou Gate Complex, pump stations, and T-walls to reduce overall construction cost.

RELEVANT SERVICES

infraTECH as a teaming partner to Stantec-Jacobs JV investigated a narrower gate opening for the Adams Bayou Gate Complex. Based on the channel use, it was found that the gate opening was wider than required. By using a narrower sector gate for the complex, overall construction cost for the project was minimized. Another role for infraTECH was to investigate the addition of a fourth gate frame to the Adams Bayou Sector Gate with the goal of minimizing material use and improve safety. The final item investigated was the use of large diameter (30”) steel pipe piles to support the gate structures, pump stations, and tall T-walls. It was concluded that by using the larger diameter pipe piles, construction schedule could be shortened, and overall construction cost could be reduced.

"infraTECH led structural engineering during the VE process. They thoroughly reviewed the preliminary plan set and the summary of work provided to them as part of the Value Engineering team. Based on their extensive experience with New Orleans District on similar sector gate and pump station projects, they provided valuable alternatives to the VE team to optimize construction schedule and cost. Overall, infraTECH performed exceptionally well and is a team player. We are pleased with their performance to date and valuable input in VE studies. 


Dan Grandal, PE, 

GCS JV PM

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