CRACK IN FLOODWALL NOT A CONCERN FOR OFFICIALS

A hairline fracture in the floodwall that protects downtown Cape Girardeau began seeping water a few weeks ago but isn't posing a threat, says Dane Surface, office engineer for the Corps of Engineers in Cape Girardeau.

"The integrity of the concrete is still sound," said Surface.

Water seeping through the infinitesimal crack during the current record river height has created a spot of moisture on the wall's exterior about the size of a large grapefruit.

The fracture is in a jog in the wall at the foot of Independence Street.

Moisture also is seeping down the vertical seam in the wall that is located at that point.

A small puddle of water has formed at the bottom of the seam.

The fracture runs horizontally from the seam to a point about 8 feet south.

A hairline crack itself is not worrisome, Surface said. "It happens in sidewalks." But sidewalks aren't exposed to the tremendous pressure being applied to the floodwall, he said.

"We look at it every day just to make sure nothing has changed," said Surface, who during normal times is the Corps' construction engineer here.

Surface said the Corps has no reason to question the wall's ability to hold back the water against it, though its structure has not been tested for the past two years.

No testing has been conducted during the current flood, Surface said. "I just don't know that it's really necessary."

He said all the Corps' levees and floodwalls in the area "are still holding fine."