center located in the US southeast.

Volkswagen says that it will take five to eight years for the new positions to be filled as production of the new model ramps up. The plant will be finished in the first half of 2016 with production commencing later in the year.

Temporary and Permanent Employment

Construction alone will add nearly 5,400 jobs while the plant is being built and contribute $217 million to the Tennessee economy. State and local coffers will enjoy a one-time increase in tax revenues too, totaling $20.5 million.

With 2,358 people currently employed directly by Volkswagen in Tennessee, the new totals will approach 4,400 when the hiring process comes to an end.

Once fully operational, the UTK researchers estimate that the new plant will create 9,799 new jobs and pump $372.6Cranes were used Wednesday morning to lift heavy wooden timbers from sections of the Bonnet Carre Spillway structure.

NEW ORLEANS — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has begun opening a historic flood control structure west of New Orleans to divert water from the rising Mississippi River and ease pressure on levees that protect the city.

Cranes were used Wednesday morning to lift heavy wooden timbers from sections of the Bonnet Carre Spillway structure. That allows some of the water from the rain-swollen river to flow through the structure and over a broad expanse of land into Lake Pontchartrain.

Wednesday's opening of the structure marks the first time it has been operated in consecutive years. It is also the third time in four years that it has been operated. It's the