Residents living close to the Santa Maria River Levee should plan on hearing the buzz and din of construction equipment this fall.
The Army Corps of Engineers recently took the first step in the building process by soliciting bid proposals from contractors to repair 3.25 miles of the south levee from Blosser Road to Suey Crossing Bridge.
Funded primarily by money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the project is predicted to create up to 1,000 jobs, according to representatives from the Army Corps’ Los Angeles office.
The Army Corps’ solicitation for bids was posted on the city’s website, ci.santa-maria.ca.us, on July 1, according to a press release from the city. Sealed bids are due by 1 p.m. on Aug. 18. The city expects to award the contract in September 2009, and work on the levee should last about two years.
Once hired, the contracting company will focus on building an 8-foot-wide and about 30-foot-deep compacted soil cement section running along the riverward side slope. Construction also calls for removal of more than three miles of existing bikeway rail and the installation of a new one. Improvements will also include the removal, disposal, and installation of levee signs, fences, and gates.
This is the first of two sections of the levee to be strengthened. The second section, from Suey Crossing Bridge southeast to Bradley Canyon, is expected to go out to bid early next year.
The improved levee will provide flood protection to the city of Santa Maria and the surrounding Santa Maria Valley. A total of about 6.2 miles of the levee will receive repairs.
The Army Corps of Engineers designed and built the Santa Maria River Levee in the early 1960s, and it is owned and operated by the County of Santa Barbara.
For more information about the levee, visit ci.santa-maria.ca.us/riverlevee.shtml or the Santa Barbara County Public Works Department website, countyofsb.org/pwd.
This article appears in Jul 9-16, 2009.