Your Partner for Professional Engineering Consulting
Serving Louisiana and the Gulf Coast for Over 25 Years
Let AIMS Design You a Solution
Since 1996, AIMS Group, Inc. has been a locally owned, diversified professional engineering consulting firm in Louisiana. We specialize in civil, structural, and environmental engineering, completing hundreds of diversified engineering projects across our Gulf Coast region.
What We Do
AIMS Group, Inc. knows the physical environment and engineering practices of the Gulf Coast. Our team of engineers and designers has the required experience to model, evaluate, and design projects across the following areas.
Civil Engineering
Perform all primary aspects of all civil engineering disciplines with our 100 years of combined experience
Program and Project Management
Drive project schedules, meet budgets, and ensure the highest quality of work as an extension of your staff
Construction Management
Oversee projects for client owners as an extension of their staff or act as the owner’s agent in monitoring contractors
Flood Control Engineering
Provide support for flood protection and coastal restoration, including the design, planning, and management of projects
Environmental Assessments
Consult, monitor, and report on various environmental projects for governmental agencies and commercial organizations
Our Mission
Since our formation, AIMS Group has stayed true to its local roots. We have evolved alongside our community by adhering to the following values.
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We treat your business as our business by listening to your concerns and providing in-depth, tailor-made strategies.
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We contribute to the communities in which we live and work by understanding our region’s engineering and environmental best practices.
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We equip our team with resources, such as the latest technology and industry certifications, to achieve efficiency and exceed expectations.
Our Experience
AIMS Group, Inc. has experience working on projects from various funding sources.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program
Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP)
Louisiana State Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Grants (CPRA)
Restore Acts Grants
New Market Tax Credits
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
State and Federal Historic Tax Credits
Water Resources Development Act
Enterprise Zone Tax Credits
Energy Tax Credits
Property Assessment Clean Energy Bonds
Our Recent Projects
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AIMS was tasked with design, specification development and assisting during bidding for two reaches: (1) WSLP-108 levees, T-walls, and a Mississippi Bayou drainage structure, stations 247+50 to 326+00, and (2) WSLP 105, levees, T-walls, and Perriloux drainage structure, stations 472+00 to 630+00. Design disciplines included Civil, Structural, Mechanical and Cost Estimating.
AIMS was responsible for coordination of Geotechnical Analyses through one of our Subconsultants. Construction features included structural, mechanical and electrical design of drainage structure, gates and stop logs. Structural and Geotechnical design of T-Walls. Civil and Geotechnical design of levees, drainage canals, access roads, temporary retaining structures. Development of MII Construction Cost Estimates and schedules. CPAR Rating Official had the following to say about AIMS performance: “THE AE PRESENTED A VERY COST-EFFECTIVE DESIGN…. SINCE the AE’s performance in cost control element is much better than very good, it is therefore rated as exceptional.”
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AIMS was selected for this Federal Restore Act project to restore 28,050 feet of historic maritime ridge along Bayou Eau Noire and to create 400 acres of marsh and nourish 100 acres of marsh in the nearby open water area, which includes restoring native grasses, migratory bird areas and enhancing the following: identify potential borrow sources river and basin side; analyze dredge material; collect existing data and available information for environmental inventory; develop preliminary environmental impact study; develop self-mitigating design for permitting; develop multiple design alternatives based cost; prepare joint permit application form, which includes preparing permit application supporting documents and preliminary design and drawings for CEMVN, DNR-OCM, MNSA, and resource agencies (NMFS, USFWS, EPA, CPRA, LDEQ, et al); and develop best available science report to comport with the Restore Act requirements. Final engineering design included an alignment and development of a ridge template that will also reduce wave energy as part of a “multiple lines of defense” strategy.
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AIMS GROUP was responsible for the preparation of Design Plans and Specifications for the lowering of the potable water supply to Grand Isle, LA. The design consisted of adding concrete anchors (3’x3’), lowering approximately 11 miles water line to ensure a minimum of 12’ of cover, maintaining a 3 ft. clearance to all existing pipeline crossings, reconnecting and adding pipe at each valve station, and directionally drilling under Bayou Rigaud.
USACE routinely dredges Bayou Rigaud to maintain depth for barge and ship traffic. The dredging operations have hit and damaged the waterline due to the shallow depth of the line. The waterline is designed to be directionally drilled 25 feet below the bottom of the Bayou per USACE guidelines. AIMS Group also included a secondary/backup water supply by reconnecting an abandoned water line from Lafourche Parish to the water line that was disconnected in 1999. A new 8” line will be run to the existing Chenier storage tank.
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AIMS Group (AIMS) performed the very first baseline design criteria review and periodic levee inspection for the Greater New Orleans HSDRRS Systems – which included levees, floodwalls, gated structures and pump stations that form the 133-mile Greater New Orleans perimeter system, as well as approximately 70 miles of interior risk reduction structures. The HSDRRS includes the world’s largest surge barrier of its kind, the IHNC–Lake Borgne Surge Barrier, and the largest drainage pump station in the world, the GIWW–West Closure Complex, among its technically–advanced engineering solutions.
AIMS design review and inspection included 194 miles of levees and floodwalls, 54 pump stations, and 31 drainage and gate structures for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. AIMS performed the first periodic inspection review and design criteria review for the entire HSDRRS, which included the IHNC Storm Surge Barrier.
The IHNC Storm Surge Barrier – the largest design- build civil works project in USACE history, and recipient of the prestigious 2014 ASCE Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement (OCEA) award and numerous other awards. With three floodgates and nearly 2 miles of floodwall, the IHNC project is a key element of the New Orleans HSDRRS.
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AIMS was selected for this Federal Restore Act project to restore natural headland and create approximately 600 acres of marsh. The specific objective of the Adams Bay Headland Restoration project is to re-create approximately 35,000 feet of elevated barrier headland ridges; nourish approximately 2,000 acres of wetlands to the headland north of Adams Bay; and it will create approximately 500 acres of new marsh.
This project will provide surge protection, wave attenuation and a secondary line of defense to the areas to the north and northeast of the project. This project will complement and extend the proposed Barataria Bay Rim project by restoring vegetative headland ridges, forested ridge habitat and native marsh. Creation of the marsh areas will occur using additional dredged material from the river and placing it in open water areas adjacent to existing marshes and the proposed vegetated ridge. Preliminary engineering and planning up to 25% has been completed along with preliminary environmental permit work and best available science analysis.
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AIMS is the prime design consultant on this unique coastal project that will build new barrier islands to effect wave fetch and protect from tidal and storm surges. AIMS first task was to create a feasibility study to analyze benefits, drawbacks, constructability – including various alignments, costs, environmental risk, and extensive wave modeling.
AIMS led a team of engineering firms to develop and evaluate various ridge geometries and alignments as part of the feasibility study. AIMS analyzed the geometry and alignment of the ridges to determine the impacts on water salinity and wave/surge attenuation. AIMS worked with the Water Institute to model the effects of the coastal ridge on water salinity in Bay Eloi and Black Bay. Prior to wave attenuation analysis, AIMS researched various type of wave/hydraulic modeling software used in the industry. For the level of analysis required during this phase of the Project, AIMS determined the STWave program in CEDAS suite from Veri-Tech would be best. We used STWave software to model and analyze the effects of the coastal ridges on waves/surge. AIMS modeled different ridge alignments and cross sections, as well as different storm events using STWave. AIMS determined the ridge geometry and alignment, described in the feasibility report, significantly reduced wave action on the marshes behind the ridge(s) for storms with a wave height less than or equal to the elevation of the ridge. During storm events when the waves overtopped the ridge, the ridge(s) reduced the length of wave period. The reduction in the wave period reduces the waves’ ability to rebuild to its maximum height.
The proposed coastal ridges will be constructed to an average width of approximately 600 feet at an elevation of 7± feet NAVD88. The coastal ridges will be constructed using granular material (i.e. sand and silt) from either the Mississippi River or Breton Sound/Gulf of Mexico. The total volume to granular material required to construct the proposed ridges is approximately 52.7 million cubic yards. The total estimated construction cost is approximately $762.5 million.
