$4 million of stimulus to help fund Cape floodwall repairs

The Cape Girardeau floodwall repair project could be finished six to 12 months ahead of schedule thanks to the federal stimulus bill approved by Congress in February.

The $10 million project, which includes making it easier for the wall to handle expansion and contraction due to weather and rehabilitating the Merriwether Street pumping station, is close to being fully funded thanks to an allocation of $4 million from the stimulus bill, said George Stringham, spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Louis District.

The allocation for floodwall work is part of more than $4.6 billion nationwide dedicated to the corps' civil works program. The St. Louis District is slated to receive about $250 million.

Other appropriations for the floodwall work include $2.6 million secured by U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson as part of this year's budget and past spending commitments of about $2.7 million. How much will actually be needed will be determined by bids submitted later this year by contractors, Stringham said.

Contracts should be awarded by the end of September, he said, with work completed by September 2010.

"The entire project should be substantially complete six to 12 months ahead of the original timeline," Stringham said.

Word that the stimulus bill would pay for the floodwall comes as spring rains are pushing the Mississippi River to its highest level of the year. The river is expected to go above flood stage of 32 feet on the Cape Girardeau gauge today and crest at 38 feet Thursday. At that level, the floodgate at Themis Street must be closed.

The city took over maintenance of both the Main Street Levee District and the North Main Street Levee District in 2008. The floodwall, originally constructed in the 1960s, needs a better drainage system along with the work to help relieve stress on the wall from weather and additional work on retaining walls.

At one time, the corps was considering replacing a section of the floodwall near the foot of Independence Street that is askew, but the current plan calls for cutting additional expansion joints in the wall, Stringham said.

Expansion joints are about one inch wide and allow the wall to respond to changing weather as heat and cold make the concrete expand and contract. The extra expansion joints will be cut every 200 feet, where existing regular joints are. The corps is aware that the work may damage or cause other problems for the floodwall murals, Stringham said.

"We are working with the city to have minimal impact on murals," he said.

The accelerated schedule is good news, said Ward 2 Councilman Charles Herbst, whose district includes the floodwall. "That is wonderful because it needs maintenance and that was part of the reason we were able to take over the levee district and the two pumping stations," Herbst said. "We had to have ownership of that property and districts for us to fix the floodwall."

The list of projects for Southeast Missouri also includes $23.5 million for projects at Wappapello Lake, where the money will help pay for environmental restoration, backlogged maintenance and repairs and control of the emerald ash borer, Stringham said.

The corps will also receive $7 million for smaller projects along the Mississippi River between the Missouri and the Ohio rivers. The money will be used to construct boat ramps and river access points, for environmental restoration and maintenance of river control structures, Stringham said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

Merriwether & Main Street, Cape Girardeau, MO