Campus-Wide Flood Mitigation Program Management and Design

OWNER

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

Campus-Wide Flood Mitigation Program Management and Design

Galveston
Texas

In 2008, Hurricane Ike, the first major storm to hit Galveston Island in 25 years, struck with devastating impact on The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB). Ike caused flooding of over 1 million square feet of first floor-space on the campus, and the entire infrastructure was severely damaged by storm surge, electrical outages, and failure of the Galveston Island infrastructure. Following the storm, Walter P Moore was brought in to assess damage and report on the impact of the hurricane on the campus, and shortly thereafter was asked by UTMB and The University of Texas Office of Facilities Planning and Construction to lead a campus-wide mitigation study. As the program manager, Walter P Moore was responsible for the overall development of a mitigation plan to protect facilities on campus from any future hurricanes. The mitigation document provides design guidelines for $700 million in building and infrastructure improvements throughout the campus. The mitigation plan includes the results of physical site investigations, data review, a detailed needs inventory with associated costs, and an implementation strategy.

Based on the firm’s extensive knowledge and performance, Walter P Moore is currently providing civil and structural engineering services on all four of the design teams to implement the mitigation plan for UTMB’s healthcare, research, academic and business facilities as well as the campus’ infrastructure.