USACE New Orleans district highlights $1.3B in recent obligations, prepares projects ahead of hurricane season as colonel departs

Colonel Andrew Collins, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans District, told the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board that the district obligated more than $1.3 billion on local projects last year and is on track for another large funding year while he prepares to depart for a Washington assignment.

Collins said the district had eight systems under construction, continued home-raising packages under Southwest Coastal, and recent authorization of a $5.9 billion St. Tammany flood risk management project covering about 18.5 miles of levees and nearly 6,000 structures. “We have not seen any areas of high or median concern,” Collins said of 937 miles of Mississippi River levees the district monitors.

The colonel gave a multipart account of work completed and planned: regional delivery of $108 million of Mississippi River levee projects, completion of nine banks-and-stability worksites last year, six more priority sites this year with Saint Gabriel described as the top priority, and ongoing contracts for the Ponchartrain levee and Morganza-to-the-Gulf efforts. He said 11 of 14 contracts for one large project were under way and the remaining three were expected to be awarded in 2025, with $683 million obligated to date.

Collins also reviewed nonstructural initiatives, saying the district expects to buy down risk for roughly 15,000 residential and nonresidential structures through elevation and other measures, and reported progress on a large-scale sedimentation and navigation analysis (the Lower Mississippi River comprehensive study). He described engineering outcomes that could inform long-term solutions — including sedimentation issues between Vicksburg and Red River Landing and the potential benefit of widening Wax Lake outlet — and said study work would be resumed quickly once funding is available.

On operations readiness, Collins said the Corps and local partners conducted high-water planning exercises this spring, tested a Bayou Carey Spillway gate, and confirmed all 17 pumps at the permanent canal closures and pumps are “fit to fight” for hurricane season 2025 following repairs and new cathodic protection installations. He noted continued coordination with CPRA, levee districts and contractors on those repairs.

Board members thanked Collins for his service; several speakers praised his responsiveness and partnership during his district tenure. Chairman Dove noted Collins will be honored at a July 25 change-of-command event. Collins said he was proud to have worked with local partners and that the region’s resiliency depends on both engineering and community will.

The presentation included funding figures and project-authorizations that Collins said are in various stages of headquarters review and spend-plan approval, including a planned supplemental environmental impact statement in spring 2026 for a major reach of the Morganza-to-the-Gulf work.

Ending: Collins closed by reaffirming the Corps’ commitment to the projects and partners in South Louisiana and thanked the board for the collaboration; board members offered parting remarks and best wishes for his next assignment in Washington.