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Sims Bayou Federal Flood Damage Reduction Project: The End is Drawing Near
July 27, 2010
After widening and deepening Sims Bayou for the past two decades, crews have reached the final segment -- spanning from South Post Oak Road to Croquet Street (about 0.5 miles). This marks the beginning of the end of an 18-year and 19-mile long construction project. The Sims Bayou Federal Flood Damage Reduction Project is the largest project in Harris County's history led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in terms of cost and the number of homes and businesses that will no longer be in the floodplain.
The $379 million project includes more than 19 miles of bayou widening and deepening beginning at the Houston Ship Channel and extending upstream into the south central part of Harris County. The channel work is supplemented by three stormwater detention basins along Sims Bayou constructed by the Harris County Flood Control District using local funds. The basins, totaling 700 acres, collectively store about 582 million gallons of stormwater. The project also includes the replacement or modification of 20 bridges. When complete, the entire project will have removed the 1 percent (100-year) floodplain from approximately 35,000 houses and 2,000 commercial structures.
The project is ranked No. 6 as a National Priority Project (it's one of the largest flood-control projects in the nation), and it prompted a visit in 2008 from Lieutenant General Robert Van Antwerp, the Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the Corps – a very rare occurrence.
One of the most unique aspects of the project is the innovative material used to armor the newly-widened slopes of the bayou. Instead of using solid concrete to stabilize the large bayou's banks, engineers used Articulated Concrete Blocks (ACBs), which resemble large, interlocking puzzle pieces with holes big enough to allow grass to grow through. Over time, grass and other vegetation will completely mask the blocks, providing a more environmentally-friendly habitat.
Another unique feature of the Sims project is the stormwater detention along the bayou near Scott Street and East Orem Drive. About 1.6 million cubic yards of the excavated material was used to build a 60-foot tall hill on site. This basin, which can store 325 million gallons of stormwater, has earned the nickname the “Hill at Sims.” When standing on top of the hill, the site appears almost canyon-like, offering spectacular views of the Downtown Houston skyline.
The Sims project is expected to be complete in 2012.
> Learn More about the Sims Bayou Watershed
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