Federal money is building Norfolk's floodwall and storm surge barriers

Norfolk sits low along the water, and the Army Corps projects that without protection nearly all of the city would face storm flooding risk by 2075. This project, built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with the city, is designed to reduce that risk. It calls for storm surge barriers across the mouths of waterways like the Lafayette River and Pretty Lake, miles of floodwall and earthen levee, pump stations, and living shorelines. A separate program pays to raise homes and fill basements for eligible properties.

Residents don’t apply for the wall; it protects whole neighborhoods. The home-elevation program is for eligible property owners in the project area. The first phase runs from the Berkley Bridge east past Harbor Park toward Chesterfield Heights, with a wall from 6.5 to 16.5 feet tall, two pump stations, a tide gate and a stretch of the Elizabeth River Trail on top.

Rep. Bobby Scott pressed Congress to authorize the project, and he, Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and Rep. Elaine Luria asked for design money in 2020. Congress authorized it in a 2020 water resources law that President Donald Trump signed. Warner helped negotiate the 2021 infrastructure law, and in early 2022 the Army Corps allocated its money to the project; the city counts $399.3 million in federal funding so far. Washington pays 65% of the cost and Norfolk pays the rest, with some help from state flood grants. The price has since climbed sharply and the schedule has slipped.