In Depth Look: Identifying Projects
2: Identifying Projects
4: Developing the Plan 5: 2012 Coastal Master Plan 6: Policies & Programs
Louisiana’s Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast
3: Evaluating Projects
We used a standard system for assigning costs and developing estimates for each category of projects. For construction costs, we estimated construction bid items, unit costs, and quantities. We used historical data to guide us, and we referenced unit costs from recently bid projects in other coastal programs. The final estimated construction cost for projects included contingencies (dollar amounts that allow for expected costs not already identified). Planning, design, and construction management costs were determined as a percentage of the estimated construction cost. Operation and maintenance costs were calculated differently, depending on project type. For projects the state has experience building, such as marsh creation, barrier island restoration, and structural risk reduction projects, operation and maintenance costs were developed to cover specific activities. For project types that have not yet been implemented in coastal Louisiana, such as large scale diversions, operation and maintenance costs were estimated as a percentage of construction cost. The project attributes tables in Appendix A offer standardized information about the project ideas available to protect and restore coastal Louisiana.
2: Identifying Projects
We then began a several month long process to find all of the necessary information specified in these categories. Whenever possible, we took attribute details directly from the original studies that had proposed the projects. Often, however, the studies either did not contain detailed project information or used different assumptions than we did about the projects’ life spans and designs. For example, the source studies often used varying elevations for marsh creation projects, and some studies presented projects designed to function for a shorter time than the master plan’s 50 year timeframe. In most of those cases, we took the project footprint and applied our own design templates for each project type.
1: Guidelines for the Master Plan
We assembled hundreds of project ideas of varying sizes, designs, and budgets. We had to find a consistent way to describe these projects so they could be evaluated on a level playing field. First we identified the kinds of information we wanted to have and established categories for each project type. These categories included different types of information—for example, project location, size, and duration—that when added together would provide complete project profiles. We chose these categories in consultation with our modeling team and other experts since the attribute categories had to mesh with what the Predictive Models and Planning Tool could analyze.
Introduction
Describing the Projects
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