Vicksburg Engineer District Completes Ouachita Levee Project

The Vicksburg Engineer District celebrated the completion of the Ouachita River Levee Crown Gravel Resurfacing Project on November 20 in Columbia, La., near the Riverton Recreation Area.

The effort included updating 45 miles of Ouachita River levees and involved depositing approximately 46,000 tons of limestone gravel along the crowns of the levees, or enough to fill a football field with 15 feet of rock, which reinforces the structures so they can protect nearby communities.

The finalized contract award was nearly $3.5 million, funded as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and a partnership with the Tensas Basin Levee District. Vicksburg District Commander Col. Christopher Klein, Tensas Basin Levee District Executive Director Brandon Waggoner, project managers Milton Beverly and Craig Prestwood and additional representatives marked the occasion with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting on top of a levee near the banks of the Ouachita River.

Klein said that partnership was key to the project’s success.

“We go into a flood fight as partners and patrol the levees so communities stay safe,” he said. “By protecting our infrastructure, we protect what’s most important: our people.”