Corps promises to fix the levees before June 1

2theadvocate.com

"We've been provided enough money (by Congress) to rehab the levees," he said.

Young also said the corps hopes to decide in the next two to three weeks what kind of temporary structure to build at the mouths of the 17th Street and London Avenue canals to keep Lake Pontchartrain's surge out of the drainage canals. The Orleans Avenue Canal, which sits between the 17th Street and London Avenue canals but did not fail during Katrina, also is being looked at, he said.

"Right now our intent is to stop the surge," Young said, adding that pumps also could be included in those temporary gates.

Permanent floodgates at the front of the canals could take three to five years to complete, he said.

The corps plans to fix the floodwalls using an inverted T-wall design rather than an I-wall design, which would expand the slope of the levees and give them more support. Later this week or early next week, Young said, the corps will formally advertise the T-wall work and will require that the winning company have enough workers to complete the job by June 1.