PORT ARTHUR, Texas — Once a year, all 26 flood gates in Port Arthur are tested as hurricane season approaches.
On Tuesday, Jefferson County Drainage District 7 (DD7) tested the FM-365 gate to make sure it's secured properly.
The purpose of the FM-365 gate is to stop storm surge waters from the Gulf of Mexico through Taylors Bayou from overflowing the earthen levee and entering homes and businesses in Port Arthur.
"Pull the guard rails out and using a piece of equipment, like the back up we have here we pull the gates closed, then there's a turn buckle system that locks those two together," said DD7 Assistant Manager Allen Sims.
A new design by the U.S Army Corps of Engineers will cut the number of needed gates from 26 to 20 and raise the height of the levee 16.5 feet to 20.5 feet.
Program Director for the Port Arthur Project, Charles Wheeler says numerical models using historical and statistical data predict sea levels will rise 50 to100 years from now
"So based on our analysis looking at the 150 storms and how it affects the systems over a 50 year period, we're raising our levee system and they can be adaptable in the future to be raised to the 100-year level," Wheeler said, "We're raising our flood walls and and garden structure now because they will be harder to raise in the future."
Wheeler tells 12news the levees and flood walls will also grow.
"We're on an earthen levee that we're going to raise up five feet and on this flood wall here we're going to raise that up five feet as well," Wheeler said.
Residents stuck on the other side won't need to worry because the Texas Department of Transportation is potentially adding a 21-foot drivable bridge on top.
"We'll actually Work With TXDOT and we’re hoping to take this gate structure out as part of this project and build a road over the top of the levee her," Sims said. "We call SLC2 which is a hundred-year storm 100 years from now. So, then this gate goes away and ingress and negress will not be impeded.”
Wheeler tells 12news the levees and flood walls will also grow.
"We're on an earthen levee that we're going to raise up five feet and on this flood wall here we're going to raise that up five feet as well," Wheeler said.
Even the shape of the floodwall will make a huge difference from an "I" shape to a "T" for strength.
"Has batter powers below and it makes it significantly stronger to take barge impact and higher wave loads," Wheeler said.
The alligator bayou pump station annex was built in 2021 to pump out more water.
Sims says they can handle 12 to 13-inch rain within a 24-hour period.
The entire Port Arthur Project is expected to be completed by 2029.