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USACE Vicksburg District celebrates Ouachita River levee resurfacing project completion as part of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Tensas Basin Levee District partnership

USACE Vicksburg District
Published Nov. 21, 2023
People in business casual clothes and a man in a U.S. Army Colonel's uniform hold pieces of a bright red ribbon in front of a forest.

District Commander Col. Christopher Klein cuts the ribbon for the Ouachita River Levee Crown Resurfacing Project completion alongside project manager Craig Prestwood and Tensas Basin Levee District Executive Director Brandon Waggoner Nov. 21, 2023. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law-funded project included placing 46,000 tons of gravel on the crowns of 45 miles of levees.

A man in a U.S. Army Colonel's uniform and a man in business casual clothes cut a ceremonial red ribbon.

USACE Vicksburg District Commander Col. Christopher Klein cuts the ribbon to mark the completion of the Ouachita River Levees Crown Resurfacing Project Nov. 20, 2023. The project required 46,000 tons of limestone gravel, enough to fill a football field 15 feet deep.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District celebrated the completion of the Ouachita River Levee Crown Gravel Resurfacing Project Nov. 20 in Columbia, Louisiana, near the Riverton Recreation Area.

The effort included updating 45 miles of Ouachita River levees as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) of 2022, previously the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and a partnership with the Tensas Basin Levee District. USACE Vicksburg District Commander Col. Christopher Klein, Tensas Basin Levee District Executive Director Brandon Waggoner, project managers Milton Beverly and Craig Prestwood and additional representatives marked the occasion with a ceremonial ribbon cutting on top of a levee near the banks of the Ouachita River.

The project involved depositing approximately 46,000 tons of limestone gravel along the crowns of the levees, or enough to fill a football field with 15 feet of rock, which reinforces the structures so they can protect nearby communities. The finalized contract award was nearly $3.5 million. The district’s Project Resources Management Branch oversaw the project, and the Vidalia Area Office assisted with construction oversight.

USACE Vicksburg District Commander Col. Christopher Klein said that partnership was key to the project’s success.

“We go into a flood fight as partners and patrol the levees so communities stay safe,” he said. “By protecting our infrastructure, we protect what’s most important: our people.”

The USACE Vicksburg District is engineering solutions to the nation’s toughest challenges. The Vicksburg District encompasses a 68,000-square-mile area across portions of Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana that holds nine major river basins and incorporates approximately 460 miles of mainline Mississippi River levees. The Vicksburg District is engaged in hundreds of projects and employs approximately 1,100 personnel.


Contact
Christi Kilroy
601-631-5000
christi.kilroy@usace.army.mil
or
Anna Owens
601-631-5000
vicksburgdistrict@usace.army.mil

Release no. 23-038