Herbert Hoover Dike in Clewiston. To protect life and property around Lake Okeechobee, crews have been strengthening the Herbert Hoover Dike for more than a decade. Just this month, they completed another stretch of the project in Clewiston. It’s another major milestone in strengthening the dike around the lake, while preventing erosion. The Herbert Hoover Dike stretches 143 miles, surrounding Lake Okeechobee, designed to protect people and property all around. Its conception came after devastating hurricanes in the 1920s, sending tides toppling over sand and muck embankments, killing more the 2,000 people. Today, work continues to strengthen the dike. Ingrid Bon is the project manager forward with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Crews work on the Herbert Hoover Dike at Lake Okeechobee. Project completion for the dike is expected in 2022. Credit: WINK News. She said, “We’ve been working around Lake Okeechobee on the Herbert Hoover Dike since 2007, and our goal is public safety. Since then, we have been working on making the dike safer by building a cut-off wall in most of the southern edge of the lake, and also replacing water control structures. Bon, who oversees the project, said the cement cut-off wall will reinforce the dike and stop water from moving through it. One of the problems that are trying to address with this work is the internal erosion of the dike. What the wall does is prevent internal erosion, making the dike stronger and safer. The cost, a whopping $1.5 billion. But that’s a small price to pay for the long-term safety to protect people and property. “If we notice again,” Bon said, “that there are issues or problems that have to be corrected, then we will come back and fix it. The overall rehabilitation project is expected to be completed this December.