By BJ Austin, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-829227.mp3
Dallas, TX – Big problems along the Trinity River levees in Dallas have led the Corps of Engineers to "decertify" the Dallas Floodway Project. KERA's BJ Austin says the final report on the levees could have far-reaching consequences.
Because the levees no longer meet stricter Corps of Engineers safety standards, FEMA will be notified and will redraw the downtown Dallas flood map. That could mean changes in availability and cost of flood insurance. Dallas is seeking a waiver, and plans tests to prove the levees can meet FEMA's 100 year flood protection standards -in spite of current problems. Piers sunk into the levee for the new, designer Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, and plans for dozens more to support the Trinity Toll road ramps are big problems in the inspection report. Councilmember Angela Hunt wants all such work to stop.
Hunt: Some of our leadership in Dallas has placed considerable pressure in pushing thru the approval process as it relates to the Toll Road and the Corps.
Hunt calls it expediency over safety. Mayor Tom Leppert says absolutely not.
Leppert: Everybody stresses that the genesis of this project, the primary purpose of this project, is safety. It's the flood controls. It's the levee. And that will continue.
City officials say so-called diaphragm walls around the bridge piers and along the toll road may be called for. Costs could run upward of 45 million dollars. Geological testing on the levees should be complete in September.