MoDOT has a new tool for holding back floodwater. Big Bags are large sand bags that unfold like an accordion to create a 15-foot long by 3-foot high by 3-foot wide storage compartment for sand. One system of Big Bags takes the place of 500 sand bags.

“They’ll be used the next time floodwaters threaten to rise over our major roads,” said Jim Carney, state maintenance engineer. “A new product like this can help us save time and protect lives during a crisis.”

The Big Bags work much like Legos toys; a chain of dumpster-sized bags can be stacked, attached, filled with sand and built upon to create massive floodwalls quickly and easily. The bags are made of tightly woven polypropylene with wooden frames that are screwed together. Each system weighs only 50 pounds when empty, but when deployed they are filled with 2,800-3,500 pounds of sand, depending on the moisture content.

It takes just a few minutes to fill the bags with the help of a spreader box on dump trucks. Creating a traditional sand bag wall could take several hours.

“The flood of 2008 prompted us to pursue the Big Bags,” said Carney. “We want to have something new to try in our next flood emergency.”

MoDOT was the first state in the area to purchase the Big Bags, and currently has 885 systems in storage at the Central Office Distribution Center available to the districts when they are needed.