For more than 60 years, Corpus Christi's original flood protection system sheltered a downtown well below the projected hurricane surge level. When it began to show signs of wear, the city engaged us to conduct an investigation of the structure.  

An evaluation of the overall condition of the seawall, levees and floodgates concluded that several portions would probably sustain moderate to severe damage in a 100-year hurricane event. The City of Corpus Christi initiated the design and construction of a comprehensive repair and rehabilitation project. Detailed structural analyses and coastal engineering were performed to generate repair plans to protect the downtown business district from wave impacts and tidal effects.

Key elements of the design work included soil-structure interactions; lateral pile, pile group and steel sheet pile design; high performance marine concrete; coating systems; crack repair systems; and hydrostatic relief systems. We also guided the permitting process, provided construction plans and conducted field observations. The design incorporated decorative concrete features, is ADA-compliant and accommodates pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Construction took less than seven years.