Location:
Terrebonne Parish
Gray, LA

Schedule:
Project Start Date: 2015
Project Completion Date: 2017

Cost:
Total Cost: $7.34 million
Square Footage: 11,000 SF

Involved Companies

Precast Concrete Producer

Jackson Precast
3325 Lawson Street
Jackson, MS 39213
https://www.jpi.ms/

Background

Terrebonne Parish required a new building to accommodate emergency workers and withstand hurricane-force winds for their new emergency operations center. The Parish's present infrastructure couldn't endure a Category 3 hurricane's force.

The new 11,000-square-foot Joseph L. Waitz Emergency Operation Center (EOC) is constructed to survive a Category 5 hurricane and contains 8-inch precast concrete wall panels. The new EOC is equipped with impact-resistant glass, a 64-person incident command center, and a 100-foot radio tower outside that can withstand gusts of 225 mph. This tower allows for monitoring the telemetry of the parish's pumping stations and remote control of a number of them.

In the case of a broad emergency, the structure will serve as the parish's center for coordination and communication. When not used for emergencies, the structure is put to good use as a multifunctional building for meetings and training. The new offices for the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparation are also located there.

The Terrebonne Parish Council gave the facility the name Joseph L. Waitz Emergency Operations Center after the late Terrebonne Parish District Attorney Joseph Waitz.