The federal government is considering a $52 billion plan to build movable barriers and gates across waterways in New York and New Jersey where Superstorm Sandy storm surge wrecked huge sections of shoreline and other areas in October 2012, according to the Brooklyn Eagle news outlet.
Moveable sea gates would be built across bays, rivers, and other waterways in the two states according to a proposed plan announced Monday by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The project would be carried out between 2030 and 2044.
The report said the project – which would likely be funded only up to 65 percent by the federal government — would protect critical infrastructure and population centers that were badly damaged by Sandy.
“In the instance of a large storm, storm surge barriers, navigable gates, and deployable flood barriers would help to reduce risk to vulnerable areas from flood damages relating to flooding, including the loss of human life and damage to existing infrastructure. Within areas of reduced risk are schools, parks, energy and transportation infrastructure, container and other cargo terminals, that would all see significant benefit through implementation of the study measures,” the report said.
Among the waterways that would receive the barriers are:
Flushing and Newtown Creeks
Jamaica Bay and two other waterways (Queens)
Gowanus Canal (Brooklyn)
Sheepshead Bay (Brooklyn)
Coney Island (Brooklyn)
Gerristen Creek (Brooklyn)
Arthur Kill and Kill Van Kull (Staten Island – NJ)
Hackensack and Passaic Rivers (NJ)
Shore-based barriers (flood walls, levees and elevated walkways) would also be built in:
Bath Beach (Brooklyn)
Far Rockaway (Queens)
Lower Manhattan
East Harlem
Jersey City
Passaic River (Newark)
Meadowlands (Secaucus, Harrison, N. Arlington, Kearny)
