NORFOLK, Va. - The City of Norfolk and the federal government signed a partnership agreement Monday for the Coastal Storm Risk Management Project.
The agreement formalizes the agreement between the city and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers.
The ten-year $2.6 billion project will help the city address flooding.
To start, the city is getting nearly $400 million from the federal government through the 2021 Infrastructure Bill.
"This is really going for the large surge events, so we're building the flood protection that stops the Hurricane Sandy's, Hurricane Katrina's, the Ian of last summer...that's our goal here," said Kyle Spencer, the chief resilience officer for Norfolk.
The project is also relying on state and local dollars.
"We're doing this pre-disaster. A lot of times, these projects happen after the hurricane brings catastrophic flooding and then all of the federal money gets set down to rebuild back," said Spencer.
Virginia's two Senators came to Norfolk for the agreement.
"People say you pass this stuff in Washington, what does it mean to my home? Well, it means $400 million of federal dollars that without those dollars this project wouldn't be moving forward," said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.).
The project will be done in five phases starting in downtown and the area around Harbor Park.
It will include a system of flood walls, a levee, surge barriers, and pump stations.
Norfolk city leaders have also pledged to make sure communities like Berkley and Campostella aren't left out.
"Norfolk has an issue with flooding. This is a resilient project. It's a ten-year project and it's going to be great for the city and for the region," said Mayor Kenny Alexander.
The project will require finding additional money in the future. "As soon as we do this, we go to bat for more," said Sen. Kaine said.
For now, project leaders will continue to design the projects with construction expected to start next year.
