Devastation caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 drove the Louisiana state government to establish a comprehensive long-term plan to protect coastal communities and provide guidelines for sustainable restoration of the coastal landscape.

Halcrow helped the Louisiana Coast Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) to develop a comprehensive coastal defense master plan. Designed to save eroding coastal wetlands and barrier shorelines at the mouth of the Mississippi River, and to help protect Louisiana’s communities and infrastructure from hurricane damage, the plan sets out the state’s coastal protection agenda for the next three decades.

Through the exchange of ideas and information, the master plan has been developed with reference to other planning efforts, including the technical hurricane risk reduction analysis being carried out by the US Army Corps of Engineers, scheduled to be submitted to Congress in December 2007.

Strategic coastal management plans of this nature have been developed in the UK since the 1990s and Halcrow has been at the forefront of their development. The client’s planning team recognized the relevance of the UK strategic planning model, and the pre-eminence of Halcrow in this field, which led it to appoint Halcrow to work on its master plan.

Halcrow has received high praise for its work. Our client said: “This project integrated hurricane protection and ecosystem restoration in a way that had not been previously accomplished – Halcrow’s previous experience in the UK, creativity, and ability to adapt were central to our success in creating the first plan of its kind in Louisiana.” The client gave Halcrow scores of five out of five across the board in categories such as ‘quality of deliverables’, ‘meeting your need and responsiveness to your requirements’ and ‘professionalism, expertise and technical standards’.

The state plan can be viewed here,and the US Corps’ analysis here.