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Archive: December, 2017
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  • December

    Task Force Power Restoration Program Manager, Philip R. Tilly (right), shows Jay Field, TF Power public affairs, the path the storm took as it made landfall onto Puerto Rico, Sept. 20.

    Task Force Power Restoration operations chief bids fond farewell

    Philip R. Tilly, a program manager with the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was making final plans in September for a promised road trip he and his wife, Jeanne, of 35 years, would take to Acadia National Park in Maine, and a week-long retreat to Hocking Hills in southeastern Ohio.
  • two men stand in debris yard in Puerto rico

    USACE personnel come to the aid of injured Puerto Rican

    “Then I heard a faint call for help,” said Richard Cusimano, who spends his days here as a quality assurance inspector in at the Canovanas, Fajardo, Loiza, Rio Grande and Luquillo debris collection sites. “Then the calls got more assertive.”
  • very old control panel

    Generator repair mission helps power Puerto Rico's critical water, sewage infrastructure

    Inside a small concrete pump station by the side of a freeway, a Quality Assurance team from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a crew of government contractors labor over a large orange generator. The station is part of a complex flood control system that helps keep San Juan and neighboring towns dry. It is just one of hundreds of sites Corps teams are visiting as part of a unique mission to repair local generators and keep critical infrastructure functioning in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
  • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Task Force Power Restoration continues their mission through the holidays. Corps Quality Assurance Specialist Amy Tillery observes as a contracted crew from Mas-Tec persist with a stubborn pole anchor and guy, while working to straighten a recently placed power pole Christmas morning. The previous pole along with most others in the area had either been broken or toppled by Hurricane Irma and Maria. Residences and businesses in the area have been without power for over 100 days.

    Work continues through the holidays to restore power to Cidra residents

    Residents and businesses of Cidra are poised to get their electricity back online, thanks to the continued mission of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Task Force Power Restoration team through the holidays.
  • More than 3,000 pressure-treated utility poles, along with hundreds of concrete and steel poles, arrive at the lay-down yard in Ponce, Puerto Rico, part of the tons of critical electrical components flowing in daily from throughout the nation to rebuild the island’s electrical distribution system. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Task Force Power Restoration team continues to amass an inventory of critical power grid materials for onward delivery to the workforce.

    Corps on track to deliver Puerto Rican citizens life-sustaining power

    In an effort to help Puerto Rican citizens recover from devastation in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Task Force Power Restoration continues its mission to restore the island’s electrical power grid Dec. 24.
  • Attorney Eliezer Aldarondo, USACE Puerto Rico Power Grid Program Director Jose Sanchez, Bayamon City Mayor Ramon L. Rivera Cruz, Task Force Power Restoration Commander Col. John Lloyd and Real Estate Chief Eric Sternberg meet Dec. 22 in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, to discuss use of city land space at the Bayamon sports complex for storage of critical materials used in the power restoration mission, including utility poles and other power grid supplies. The city is allowing the Corps use of its property and infrastructure to help expedite delivery of needed power grid supplies and equipment across the island.

    Bayamon mayor steps up for the whole island

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Task Force Power Restoration team members met with Bayamon city leaders to discuss the potential use of city land space at the Bayamon sports complex in the greater San Juan metropolitan area Dec. 22.
  • Delta Company, 249th Engineer Battalion Soldiers pose for a group photo USACE South Atlantic Division Commander Brig. Gen. Diana Holland and Task Force Power Restoration Command Col. John Lloyd after an award ceremony highlighting the unit’s successful mission during hurricane recovery operations in Puerto Rico.

    Prime Power Soldiers recognized for service in Puerto Rico

    Soldiers of the Delta 249th Engineer Battalion (Prime Power) are recognized in an award ceremony for their crucial work during power restoration efforts in Puerto Rico.
  • men discuss blue roof installations at table

    USACE Blue Roof mission in Puerto Rico is a family affair

    Omar Esquilin-Mangual, from Caguas, Puerto Rico, was born, raised and educated on the island before working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2010 after receiving his master's degree in civil engineering degree from the University of Puerto Rico.

  • Grid Restoration in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico (video)

    Andrew Imig is one of many quality assurance engineers assisting in the mission to restore power throughout Puerto Rico. The mission is massive, with more than 150 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers personnel and 2,000 contractors on the ground making strides every day.
  • workers install blue roof

    USACE's Operation Blue Roof hitting its stride

    Shortly after hurricane Maria left a trail of devastation across the island in late September, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began its work under the direction of FEMA to assist in a variety of missions in support of the residents of Puerto Rico.

  • USACE Installs Micro Grid to Bring Power to Homes Near Patillas (video)

    Power is coming to the residents of Patillas, Puerto Rico. Through the innovation of a micro grid, residences and businesses will have power 24 hours a day for the first time since hurricane Maria devastated the power grid here.
  • man points to poster to explain things

    USACE members experience a different type of homecoming, Part 5

    José Sánchez currently serves as the director of PR Grid Restoration Program. He is the director of the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center in Vicksburg, Mississippi and recently had a temporary assignment as the USACE Director of Contingency Operations and Homeland Security in Washington, D.C.
  • army colonel explains power plant to engineers

    USACE members experience a different type of homecoming, Part 4

    Sharon Garay Rodríguez is the deputy director for the Puerto Rico Power Grid Restoration Program. Her office is a work station in a USACE emergency command and control vehicle parked at the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority headquarters building in San Juan.

  • Guajataca Dam update on repairs (video)

    More than two-and-a-half months ago, damage to the Guajataca Dam near Isabella, Puerto Rico, threatened the life, property and water supply for thousands of residents downstream Rio Guajataca. Due to heavy rainfall during hurricane Maria, Guajataca Lake surged full and overwhelmed the spillway, requiring a joint effort to conduct emergency repairs.
  • workers inspect roof while homeowner looks on

    USACE members experience a different type of homecoming, Part 3

    Greg Aponte is a civil engineer and planner from New York District, where he works on coastal engineering, beach nourishment and riverine watershed studies. He leads a cadre of 25 inspectors who visit hurricane-damaged homes to determine their eligibility for temporary roofing.
  • men discuss school assessment with faculty

    US Army Corps of Engineers completes 1,131 school assessments in Puerto Rico

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Infrastructure Assessment team inspected the last school Nov. 27. Their mission was to assist in evaluating the damage Hurricane Maria did to schools across the island.

  • USACE undergoes a first by installing micro grid in Culebra (video)

    On the island of Culebra, due east of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ temporary emergency power team is tapping into a new way to bring electricity to the people.