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Hurricane María

USACE awards $93M in new contracts for PR’s ‘Operation Blue Roof’

Blue Roofs color the horizon of a San Juan neighborhood.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in coordination with the Mobile District, awarded a $93-million shared capacity contract to Power & Instrumentation Services Inc. and Ceres Caribe Inc., on Nov. 21, for additional support for temporary roofing mission more commonly known as “Operation Blue Roof.”

“Operation Blue Roof” is a priority mission managed by USACE for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and provides homeowners impacted by a disaster with fiber-reinforced sheeting to cover their damaged roofs until arrangements can be made for permanent repairs.

“The awarding of these two contracts will bring our capability up to around 1,000 roofs a day, meaning more homes will be protected in less time,” said Col. James DeLapp, USACE Puerto Rico Recovery Field Office commander. “At full production, each new contractor will be able to handle 300 roofs per day.”

As of Nov. 21, more than 11,000 roofs have been installed across the island. USACE officials estimate up to 60,000 roofs could be installed. The program is currently averaging 400 roofs per day. The temporary roofs are being installed primarily by local hires. The current contractor, Ceres Environmental, is averaging close to 90 percent local hires of the roughly 1,300 people they have working in the program.

Operation Blue Roof is for primary residences or permanently occupied rental properties with less than 50 percent structural damage. Vacation rental properties are not eligible for the program.

Once the blue roof is installed, the structure must be habitable. Not all roof types qualify for the program. Roofs that are flat or made of clay, slate or asbestos tile do not qualify. Also, all storm debris must be removed for the roof to qualify.

USACE Blue Roof teams are working directly with municipalities throughout Puerto Rico to install temporary roofs on qualifying homes.

Residents should coordinate with their municipal leaders to obtain information on where to complete the required Right of Entry form, which are necessary to conduct home evaluations and install plastic sheets.

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This story was written by our staff based on a press release.
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1 Comment

  1. Hannan Ahmad June 2, 2018

    Whenever there is a natural disaster, people lose their homes. The main part of the house affected is mostly the roofs and without roofs one cannot live in the house anymore. To protect people, give them their shelter back US Army Corps of Engineers has recently awarded a $93-million to Power & Instrumentation Services Inc in coordination with the Mobile District. The idea is to give blue fiber-reinforced sheeting so they can cover damaged roofs until permanent repairs can be made. In an estimate, a total of 60,000 roofs are to be provided with an everyday number of 400. This mission is called Operation Blue Roof.

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