VIDALIA — An ongoing construction project that started in 2010 to enlarge the Vidalia levee systems is on track to be complete by the summer of 2013 — barring any unforeseen weather conditions.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is continuing construction to enlarge and raise two areas of the levee in Concordia Parish — one south of Vidalia starting at the River View RV Park and one north of Vidalia between Giles Island and the mainland.

Project engineer James McRae said the design plans for the construction are based on the 1973 Mississippi River flood, when water levels reached 56.7 feet.

“This project has been in the works for a number of years,” McRae said. “Everything is based on the design water surface elevation, so the height of the levee is going to vary at each location.”

McRae said last year’s flood, which reached levels of 61.9 feet, definitely tested the levees, but that they passed with flying colors.

“The levees themselves have a good strong foundation,” McRae said. “We’re just enlarging the strong sections to meet the design criteria set for this project.

“This is one of our more common projects for our area office here.”

And while low-river levels on have been a nuisance for barge operators navigating the river, McRae said the low levels helped the construction move along.

“We had some access problems over near Giles Island when the water was so high,” McRae said. “But the low waters have definitely helped us.”

The river level at Natchez was 10.53 feet on Tuesday evening.

Reynold Minsky, Louisiana Fifth District Levee Board member, said he’s glad construction can benefit from the low waters, unlike last year.

“The flood last year set this project back a full year,” Minsky said. “This design is for a 500-year flood, and we need to make sure they can hold, because if we let that water come up over that levee, we’re going to have some serious problems.”

A 500-year flood design means there is a .2 percent chance of a flood of those proportions occurring each year, not that the flood will occur every 500 years.

Through the enlarging process, the top of the levees should rise about 4 or 5 feet, Minsky said.

Another portion of the construction work is to install relief wells starting at Vidalia Dock and Storage and running north, McRae said.

The wells are 90-feet deep and have a stainless steel screen across the bottom, and they pre-empt sand boils by not allowing pressure to build up under a levee. Sand boils are dangerous because they displace the soil under a levee, creating instability in the levee foundation.

“Those relief wells are going to eliminate the necessity of us having to fight sand boils if it floods,” Minsky said. “Both of these projects are critical for our area.”