Campus-Wide Flood Mitigation Program Management and Design
Hurricane mitigation and recovery
Project Facts
| Location | Galveston, Texas |
| Owner | The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston |
Overview
In the wake of Hurricane Ike’s devastation in 2008, UTMB faced unprecedented challenges. Flooded facilities and infrastructure damage sparked a call to action. A mitigation plan was developed through meticulous planning and collaboration to fortify UTMB against future storms.
Services
About the project
In 2008, Hurricane Ike, the first major storm to hit Galveston Island in 25 years, devastatingly impacted 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 the Galveston Island infrastructure failure. Following the storm, our team 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, we developed a mitigation plan to protect campus facilities from future hurricanes. The mitigation document provided design guidelines for $700 million in building and infrastructure improvements throughout the campus. The plan included the results of physical site investigations, data review, a detailed needs inventory with associated costs, and an implementation strategy.
Based on our extensive knowledge and performance, the firm provided civil and structural engineering services on all four design teams to implement the mitigation plan for UTMB’s healthcare, research, academic, and business facilities, as well as the campus infrastructure.
