Steel Bayou Channel Repair Project Completed Ahead of Schedule

Vicksburg, Miss……The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Vicksburg District’s (District) work on the Steel Bayou Drainage Structure Outlet Channel Repair Project near the Mississippi Highway 465 bridge was completed on November 17, 2014, nearly two weeks ahead of schedule.

The work was necessary to repair a scour hole that had developed downstream of the bridge. Construction was completed without closing Highway 465 and by using the Yazoo Backwater Levee as a detour. Work was completed without any major issues and earlier than the scheduled completion date of November 30, 2014. The project, which began in September, required placement of over 225,000 tons of riprap to stabilize the channel bottom and side slopes.

“This project was completed with the coordination of the Mississippi Department of Transportation and a partnering effort with Luhr Brothers Construction Company. The impacts to the public were kept to a minimum while working in the immediate vicinity of Highway 465 Bridge. The stabilization of the Steele Bayou Outlet Channel has been accomplished due to this project,” stated Lamar Jenkins, Assistant Area Engineer of the District’s Greenwood Area Office.

The 2,000-square-mile Yazoo Backwater Project lies in the southern part of the Delta in west-central Mississippi. It extends from just north of Vicksburg approximately 60 miles to the vicinity of Hollandale and Belzoni, Mississippi. It is situated between the mainline Mississippi River levee and the escarpment which forms the eastern boundary of the Delta and is subject to backwater flooding from the Mississippi River. Four greentree reservoirs and associated pump stations were constructed by the Corps for the Yazoo Backwater mitigation. In addition, 8,800 acres of agricultural lands were purchased and reforested to offset terrestrial environmental losses from the construction of the Yazoo Backwater and Satartia area levees, completed in 1978.