U.S. Senator John Cornyn Wednesday announced that the final Congressional action has been made for the “coastal spine” project to protect against flooding along the Gulf Coast of Texas.
The project is to include about 27 miles of levees and seawalls along the southern part of Orange County at an estimated cost of $1.93 billion. Cornyn in February secured nearly $4 billion for the spine, including the Orange County section, improvements to the levee system in Port Arthur, and protection in Freeport.
In a media release Wednesday, Cornyn said America’s Water Infrastructure Act is the final authorization for the coastal spine. “Today’s passage of this authorization provision marks the final Congressional action prior to the USACE (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) and the relevant local governments breaking ground on this project.”
In August, City of Orange Public Works Director Jim Wolf said the city has contingency plans for its riverfront development to adjust to the coastal spine. He said the city will need $10 million to $12 million to make the changes and the city will seek government grants for those costs.
Cornyn Wednesday said the coastal spine “is a new multi-layered system of storm surge and flood mitigation improvements to address our most acute vulnerabilities.” (pic by google)
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