HOUSTON, TX — Stantec and Jacobs, operating as the Galveston Coastal Services Joint Venture (JV), have been selected by the US Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District, to design a 26.7-mile-long levee and floodwall system along the coastline near Galveston, Texas. The eight-year, $1.9-billion construction effort, known as the Orange County Coastal Storm Risk Management (or “Orange”), will increase the area’s preparedness to respond to natural disasters and disturbances. It will also increase resistance to long-term impacts due to climate change — including sea level rise, land subsidence, regional drought and increased frequency of abnormally heavy rainfall events.

Orange centers on a stretch of the upper Texas coast from Sabine Pass to Galveston Bay, and includes Gulf and bay waters, barrier islands, marshes, coastal wetlands, rivers and streams and adjacent areas that make up the interrelated coastal area. This area is one repeatedly at risk from substantial wind and surge damage. The resulting shoreline erosion has caused the destruction of wetlands, land loss and damage to homes, commercial property and State Highway 87. Over the past 10 years, the area has been altered both physically and economically by extreme weather events such as Hurricane Harvey, which caused billions in damages.

The project outcomes are designed to harden coastal facilities and infrastructure on which many energy systems, markets, consumers and residents depend. Texas, along with Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, are home to more than 80 percent of the nation’s energy resources. Within the greater Houston Metropolitan area alone, there are nearly 7 million people, three airports that serve more than 58 million passengers a year and more than 575 miles of highways.

“It is exciting to be selected to drive the design and delivery of this important project that will soon become a part of the fabric of the Gulf Coast," said John Montgomery, Stantec Senior Vice President and Sector Leader for Water Resources. "Our JV consists of leading project management expertise with a track record of delivering large-scale infrastructure projects that will reduce the impacts of disasters and fortify our domestic energy security.”

Orange consists of seven design packages for coastal storm risk management from the edge of the Sabine and Neches River floodplains to the vicinity of Orangefield, Texas. The project will include: 15.6 miles of new levees, 10.7 miles of new concrete floodwalls and gates, seven new pump stations to mitigate interior flooding during surge events, 453 acres of marsh restored through a mitigation plan and 560 acres of forested wetlands preserved.

Also encompassing navigable sector gates to reduce surge penetration, this project is one of many coastal storm risk management measures for the region designed to combat these increasingly frequent historical storm conditions.

“A fundamental element of Jacobs’ purpose is helping clients solve some of the toughest problems, and Orange — a strategically important resiliency investment by USACE — is a prime example of such a project and an early step in a larger overall national civil works investment strategy that Jacobs will support, leveraging our specialized capabilities in sustainable and resilient infrastructure planning and design,” said Jacobs Senior Vice President of Federal & Environmental Solutions Pankaj Duggal.

Approximately 540 JV and partner staff across multiple disciplines will execute and deliver the design packages in roughly 18 to 24 months. In addition to the Stantec-Jacobs team, this partnership includes 20 local, small business enterprises representing 40 percent of the design budget. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2022 and project completion is expected in 2026.