CREEK PROJECT MAY ENDANGER BUILDING

Construction of a concrete channel along a 450-foot stretch of Cape LaCroix Creek has been delayed because of concern that the work may damage a nearby commercial building along Kingshighway.

Work along that section was halted Thursday after some shifting was detected in the concrete foundation of the Blattner building, said Charles Grojean, resident manager of the Corps of Engineers.

The building, which formerly housed Lowell's and Silo and now is home to Sleepy Hollow and Carpet Connection, sits within 20 feet of the channel.

"It appeared that the building was moving a little bit. I am talking in terms of an eighth of an inch to a quarter of an inch," Grojean said. The movement was to the east, toward the creek.

Building owner Charles Blattner "is extremely concerned," Grojean said Friday. Blattner, he said, has sent a letter to the contractor, with copies to the Corps and the city, outlining his concern.

Blattner could not be reached for comment.

"The contractor is currently evaluating the shoring system and the impact it is having on the building," said Ken Eftink, development services coordinator for the city of Cape Girardeau.

"We are still hoping to have the Cape LaCroix Creek (phase of) the project completed by the end of July or early August."

But said Eftink, "If we have a two- or three-week delay here because of the complication with the building, that could throw the schedule off."

The 75-foot-wide concrete channel is part of the $40 million Corps of Engineers' flood control project along Cape LaCroix Creek and Walker Branch in Cape Girardeau.

About a 2,000-foot stretch of vertical concrete channel has been poured as part of the $7.1 million Cape LaCroix Creek phase of the project, which commenced in October 1991. Contractors on this phase of the project are Dumey Excavation and Brenda Kay Construction, related Oran companies.

But a gap remains in the concrete channel, where it runs behind the Blattner building.

Eftink said that while the building sits back 20 feet from the channel, construction workers "have to excavate closer to the building in order to pour footings for the wall. So they are basically working right up next to the building."

Eftink said that when the flood control project was developed several years ago, it was estimated it would have cost $750,000 to buy the building.

Most of the cost of the flood control project will be borne by the federal government, but the city will end up paying an estimated $10 million, including the cost of acquiring right of way, he said.

"The Corps felt like we could protect the building and construct the channel wall without having to demolish the building," Eftink said.

The contract requires the contractor to monitor the building weekly to make certain that the construction work isn't causing any damage. Piers were also being placed under the building to a depth of 70 feet, Eftink said.

Grojean said that an 80-foot-long section of concrete wall behind the south end of the Blattner building was completed about two weeks ago.

The contractor was beginning to remove the tiebacks or metal anchors that hold the sheet piling in place when the shifting was detected, Grojean said.

Eftink said the metal anchors are situated under the building.

On April 16, the contractor released the bolt holding five of the anchors in place. No problems were detected until Thursday, when the contractor started backing out an anchor, he said.

Once the problem was detected, the contractor "put the anchor back in and tightened down the other four he had loosened," said Grojean.

He said the contractor and the Corps will bring in technical experts Monday to look at ways to solve the problem.

"One of the things we have found is that the building isn't the best built in the world," said Grojean. The structure also is sitting on a site that used to be a swampy area and has been filled in, he said.

Grojean said the Corps reviewed the plans several times prior to construction commencing on the channel behind the Blattner building.

Corps officials, he said, had a number of questions about it and the plans went through some redesign.

"We had some problems there. We thought we had them worked out," said Grojean.

"Any time you work in and around an urban area, you have hundreds of these little things that happen to you."

He said the Corps wants to make certain that the flood control project doesn't damage the building. "We don't want to damage the building, and we also have to build a channel."

Grojean said Friday that both goals are attainable. "There is a way to do this."