TxDOT to install partial storm surge wall during hurricane readiness drill in Aransas Pass<\/a><\/p>\nThe training exercise helps maintenance crews sharpen their skills and prepare newer employees to quickly assemble the wall if a major hurricane threatens the Coastal Bend.<\/p>\n
Danny Cox, a maintenance administrator with TxDOT in Corpus Christi, said the annual drill is designed to ensure crews are ready before severe weather arrives.<\/p>\n
“We’re just out here today for an annual exercise, freshening up and sharpening up our skills,” Cox said. “We’re just prepping and learning and actually going through the motions of setting the storm surge wall up in the case of a big hurricane.”<\/p>\n
The storm surge wall is used to help protect Aransas Pass from flooding during hurricanes. Cox said State Highway 361 cuts through the city’s levee system, and the wall helps close that gap to slow down incoming storm surge water.<\/p>\n
“The wall will be closing that levee system to slow down that surge that a hurricane may bring to the city of Aransas Pass,” Cox said.<\/p>\n
TxDOT stores the wall components inside a large underground bunker near the highway. According to Cox, the bunker is about 60 feet deep, 10 feet tall, and 80 feet wide, and it holds all the steel beams and support equipment needed to assemble the wall quickly during an emergency.<\/p>\n
“A lot of times when we set this wall up, the weather’s going to be bad and the storm’s already moving in,” Cox said.<\/p>\n
Each steel beam section is about 20 feet long, with crews stacking roughly 10 to 12 beams high to build the barrier. Rubber gaskets help seal the wall, while the force of incoming water helps strengthen the structure.<\/p>\n
Hurricane season officially begins June 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Annual hurricane readiness drill helps crews prepare to protect Aransas Pass from storm surge flooding.
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