By Tanya De Jesus
tdejesus@kcautv.com
This week the US Army Corps of Engineers is taking on a major project. The corps is going to repair the navigation channel in the Missouri River which was damaged during last summer's flooding.
The Missouri River isn't quite the same after last summer's historic flooding. Just ask boater Jerry Johnson who says going in and out of the water has become a chore.
"In places the river is actually deeper. It's just, I think the bottom of the river has dropped enough that it has made it a little different to get in and out in different places," said Johnson.
In fact the US Army Corps of Engineers says since the flood, the river's navigation channel hasn't been performing the way it's supposed to. Structures that stabilize the bank were damaged along 116 miles from Rulo, NE to Sioux City. So to fix that the corps has a plan.
"We need to get that river squeezed back down so that the depth is out there in the middle so that boats and other barges can easily move up and down the river," said Laura Bentley, Omaha District project manager.
So starting this week the corps will begin its $8.3 million repair project that will be done in two segments. Newt Marine Service of Dubuque, IA will make repairs in Sioux City all the way to Fort Calhoun in Nebraska. It will use 250,000 tons of rock, dikes and revetments to fix the structures.
The repairs are expected to be completed by 2014 and the project will be funded by the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act that was signed by President Barack Obama.
