Unlike a certain project once planned for the Fly, this seems like something most people can get behind: The Advocate reports the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is planning to build a 65-foot-wide, 4-foot-tall floodwall at the riverview portion of Audubon Park.
The corps says the floodwall will protect Uptown against the chance of an 800-year Mississippi River flood. The top of the new floodwall will be 26.8 feet above sea level, and it will include a 20-foot gate to allow rail traffic to go back and forth.
A contract for the project, which is expected to cost between $1 million and $5 million and to take nine to 12 months to finish, should be awarded in late August or early September. The project will temporarily eliminate parking near Audubon Park’s baseball diamonds and reduce some parking in the south lot of Children’s Hospital.