City of Long Beach Critical Infrastructure Flood Protection
During Superstorm Sandy, the City of Long Beach was extensively damaged by severe tidal surges and widespread flooding. To protect vital public services and critical infrastructure that was rendered inoperable due to inundation by bay waters, D&B is designing and administering the installation of a flood protection barrier along the City’s northern waterfront. The project consists of 2,800 linear feet of bulkhead, road improvements, site grading, stormwater management and major utility replacement and coordination. In addition, both a 33 MGD stormwater pump station and a 20 MGD stormwater treatment system will be installed.
The complex project area possesses an array of public and private utilities and has multiple agencies with jurisdictional authority. Major gas and electrical facilities are situated within the area, which may require elevation and/or relocation. Due to many subsurface conduits that enter the area from below the Reynolds Channel waterway, provisions will be made to identify and protect these facilities during bulkhead installation. In addition, the Long Island Rail Road waterway trestle connects at this shoreline and the track system bisects the project area. Ensuring that a coordinated protection system is developed will be essential in meeting the project’s goals.
Establishing a bulkhead alignment will be accomplished early in the design phase. The current rip-rapped shoreline protects a roadway that contains an extensive system of underground utilities. In addition, due to shoreline irregularities, portions of the land are owned by the Town of Hempstead and Nassau County. Identifying an alignment that protects these utilities yet adheres to New York State Department of Environmental Conservation provisions will require securing easements, transferring of property ownership and continued coordination with regulatory agencies.
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