$2 billion Staten Island flood protection project moves forward

The first contract has been awarded as part of a $2.3 billion project to protect New York’s Staten Island from flooding.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, announced the $133 million deal with Bronx-headquartered Triumph Construction Corp. in a statement. It is the first step as construction work will be undertaken on a variety of storm-water drainage structures to reduce future flood risk from strong storms and tidal surges.

The contract includes the construction of detention basins connected with an open channel culvert, various stormwater drainage structures such as box culverts, junction chambers, sluice gates, weir chambers, flap gates and inlets for future stormwater inlets, as well as the relocation of existing sanitary sewers.

This is the first deal to be executed over the next few years as part of the broader South Shore of Staten Island project, which includes the development of additional interior drainage areas as well as a seawall.

Designs for the remaining construction contracts are currently in progress.

“This contract represents a significant step forward in protecting the South Shore of Staten Island from future storm damages. We’re committed to working closely with our partners at the state and city levels to ensure the successful completion of this critical infrastructure project,” said New York District commander Colonel Alexander Young.

Staten Island has a long history of enduring severe storm damage, including from the Nor’easter of December 1992, the March storm of 1993 and Super Storm Sandy in October 2012. The area remains highly susceptible to severe damage even from moderate storms.

Among the infrastructure damaged in Super Storm Sanday in 2012 was the 113-year-old North River Tunnel.

The tunnel is set to be rejuvenated as part of the Hudson Rail Project – a $16 billion rail megaproject linking New York to New Jersey via an underwater tunnel. Rehabilitation of the tunnel is expected to be completed by 2038.

“The project’s complexity is one of the reasons a new tunnel has not been built under the Hudson River in more than a century. State-of-the-art technology will be used to bore through the hard rock of the Palisades, stabilize the riverbed for excavation, and lay new tracks under one of the busiest cities in the world,” a spokesperson for the project told Newsweek.

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