Q Okay, so he's got this idea that was considered radical when proposed, but over the last 13 years we have seen extreme weather increase, hurricanes intensify. What happens next? Why did this catch on?
A So for 13 years, Dr. Merrill slowly chipped away at his idea. He called it the Ike Dyke, named for the hurricane that inspired it, and slowly it started to gain steam. Based on Dr. Merrill's original design, the Army Corps and the Texas General Land Office put together something called a feasibility study for a storm barrier. That study itself took years and years, and then it ended up in a plan that finally made its way to Congress as a part of the Water Resources and Development Act of twenty-twenty-two. That piece of legislation passed both the House and the Senate this summer. It's still waiting to go to Joe Biden's desk, but once it's fully authorized, then the hard part starts. Construction. As it stands right now, it's a thirty-one billion dollar project that's going to take at least 18 years to build.
AI assessment note: “ended up in a plan that finally made its way to Congress”