Plan to shield city from flooding with ‘Big U’ series of berms

This is a rendering of a proposed berm project by Danish architect group Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) called the "Big U". The project would see the installment of a 10-mile system of berms and other protections against rising sea levels.Photo: Bjarke Ingels Group
By Yoav Gonen and Bob Fredericks  June 6, 2014

Flood-prone sections of lower Manhattan would be ringed with berms, bridges and public spaces that look like a futuristic High Line under a new plan to protect the city from super storms like Hurricane Sandy.

The $335 million project by the Danish designers BIG — dubbed “The Big U” — could be completed within five years, according to Mayor de Blasio.

It will include what BIG founder Bjarke Ingels called a “bridging berm” barrier to protect the low-lying areas from storm surges and rising sea levels.

Salt-tolerant greenery will be planted along the raised berms, which will provide both open and enclosed public spaces for sightseeing and recreation.

“The Big U is an example of what we call social infrastructure,” Ingels said in a press release. “The High Line shows how a decommissioned piece of infrastructure can be transformed into a public space and green landscape.”

When the weather is normal, people will be able to use the raised spaces as they do the High Line. But when a monster storm hits, the berms will block water and protect nearby neighborhoods.

The plan was among several announced this week by the federal government as part of a massive project to protect low-lying areas in the city and along the New Jersey coast, both hard hit by Sandy.

Another $20 million initiative will include a pilot project to secure a major food distribution site near the water in the Hunts Point neighborhood of The Bronx.

And a $60 million project will put a living breakwater barrier near the south shore of Staten Island.