New senior project manager lauds Parish/Corps partnership
Reda Youssef, Director of Capital Projects, for Jefferson Parish and Michael Voich, Project Manager, for the Army Corps of Engineers overlook the SELA Soniat Canal Project Site.
The massive Southeast Louisiana flood control project known as SELA is on track for completion by 2017. That’s the conclusion of SELA’s new senior project manager for the Army Corps of Engineers, Mike Voich, who replaced the retiring Stan Green earlier this year. Voich was formerly the project engineer for SELA projects and is thoroughly knowledgeable about the construction under way and on the drawing boards. He praised the effective partnership between the Corps and the Parish that has enabled more than half a billion dollars of canal, culvert, and pump station improvements to be completed during the last 15 years.
“The Parish and the Corps work closely and well together,” Voich said. “The Parish takes the lead on project design, contracting with engineering firms to design and develop plans/specifications for each phase of the project in accordance with Corps’ requirements. The Corps then takes the lead during the construction phase putting the projects out for bid; awarding the contracts to the lowest or most qualified bidder; and supervising the construction—all with Parish input. Together we—the Corps and the Parish—do what neither one of us could do alone: get the right projects built at the right price in the right timeframe.”
Pump Station No. 3 is complete
Voich shared his Parish partners’ excitement at the recent completion of the Elmwood Canal at W. Esplanade, the earlier completion of improvements to the Cousins Pump Station, and the nearly completed design of the Pump Station for the Harahan Pump to the River project, scheduled to be advertised for bids this year. SELA is now 60% complete in terms of cost, with 41 contracts awarded and 40 completed; only 14 projects remain. Voich affirmed that the Corps “will be working aggressively to get the remaining SELA projects awarded and under construction in the next few years.” For everyone who lives, works, or plays within the banks of the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, or the banks of the Mississippi and the bayous of southeast Louisiana, that is good news. Ever since the 1995 floods that devastated much of Jefferson Parish, local, state and federal governments have been working to improve flood drainage systems, bolster hurricane protection systems, and prevent a re peat of that disaster.
Since 1997, dollars have been invested on major canal system improvements and pump station upgrades on both the east and west banks. SELA funding only covers improvements to major drain age canals and pump stations with operation and maintenance requirements being the responsibility of Jefferson Parish. Jefferson Parish Drainage Department is responsible for improvements and maintenance of the extensive network of subsurface drains and ditches, smaller pump stations, and retention ponds. The Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for overseeing construction of the levee, floodwall and floodgate projects that constitute the Hurricane & Storm Damage Risk Reduction System in Jefferson Parish, while the East and West Bank Levee Districts are responsible for maintaining and operating the system. The function of the levees is to keep flood waters and tidal surges out. SELA is instrumental in removing floodwaters occurring within the levee system. All of these systems work together to protect our homes and property against flooding—be it from heavy rain, tropical storms, or hurricanes.
