FLOOD: PROJECTS PROTECT THE CITY

THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS ERECTED THE FLOODWALL BETWEEN 1956 AND 1964. (G.D. FRONABARGER)

FLOODING BEFORE AND AFTER THE WALL: Above shows the Cape Girardeau riverfront at flood stage in July 1969, after completion of the flood wall. The project started in 1956 and was completed in 1964. Below, a train makes its way through downtown Cape Girardeau before the project began.

Cape Girardeau has had two major flood-control projects in its history, both in cooperation with the Army Corps of Engineers and both with a major goal of protecting large, retail areas of the city.

The first project, construction of the floodwall along the Mississippi River in downtown Cape Girardeau, began in 1956, after at least seven years of diligent effort to secure support for federal funding to construct the wall.

The 7,210-foot-long downtown flood-control project, built in 12 stages, was finished in 1964. The total cost was $4 million.

Just two years later city officials began working through the federal government to seek funding for a project to control stormwater on the west side of town, where the city was growing and many retail businesses were being established.

Funding for that project was not completely secured until April 12, 1989, when a group of city leaders led by David Crowe appeared before a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. That appeal eventually led to congressional approval of funds for the project.

Congress approved $500,000 initially in planning money. Additional amounts of $7.7 million were approved for fiscal year 1991 and $10.3 million for fiscal 1992.

Ken Eftink, one of the project coordinators for the city, said that total cost of the project will be about $38.9 million, with $28.2 million coming from the federal government.

Federal action on both projects were helped by local financial support and triggered at least partially by a series of damaging floods. In both projects, city officials made trips to Washington, D.C., to justify funding for the projects to appropriations committees.

During the 1940s there were several major downtown floods caused by the rising waters of the Mississippi River, particularly in 1943, 1944 and 1947. By the time of another major flood in 1951, planning for the wall was under way.

Talk about the need for downtown flood protection started just after a devastating flood in 1927. A meeting was held on June 24, 1927, at Common Pleas Courthouse, where several suggestions were made, including one to build the wall and to raise rails back from the river.

After years of discussion, a solution was finally offered to build a wall. In 1943, the Corps of Engineers held a hearing in Cape Girardeau to gather input on the flooding problem.

The Cape LaCroix-Walker Creek project was moved along by flash floods over the years. Some of the most notable floods came in March 1977, August 1982, and May 16, 1986. The 1986 flood, which caused more than $56 million in property damage and claimed two lives, proved to be the turning point for final congressional action.

The project was started in fall 1990, when the city entered into an agreement with the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department to widen the William Street bridge, Eftink said. Actual construction on creek improvements began Oct. 31, 1991.

Scheduled completion date for the project is March 31, 1996.

Besides the devastating 1986 flood, congressional action was also prompted by a committment by citizens to pay its share of the local funds. In November 1988, voters in the city approved a 10-year, quarter-cent sales tax that will provide the city's $10.7 million share of the project.

The floodwall project was built in two stages. The first, running to just north of Broadway, was finished in 1958, and protected most of the downtown area. The second phase ran north to Sloan's Creek and was finished in 1964. About 4,000 feet of the project was a concrete wall, and the rest was earthen levies.

Andy Juden Jr., longtime president of the Main Street Levee District, pointed out that original Corps plans called for extending the floodwall to the north and south. But, according to the cost-to-benefit ratio analysis by the Corps, the benefit to property owners in those areas did not justify the costs of construction.

Juden recalled that consideration was given to having one, long earthen levee as the project, which would be considerably cheaper than the concrete wall. "But the levee district wanted concrete and property owners in the downtown area contributed about a half-million dollars to help pay for the wall," explained Juden.

"If they had used an earthen levee, there would have been essentially no riverfront left in downtown Cape Girardeau, and we certainly didn't want that," Juden said.

The floodwall was also less expensive to maintain. Earthen levies were built to the north, where the dirt was away from strong river currents.

Past downtown merchants recalled that customers and merchants knew when a flood was coming, and that enabled business owners to take time to get some items upstairs in dry areas or to construct boardwalks that made their stores accessible. Many customers, however, saw impending floods as an opportunity to seize a bargain and would often hold off shopping in anticipation of the forthcoming "flood sale."

The end result of most major floods was that some merchants fled the downtown area and headed to higher ground on Broadway and in other places of the city.

Juden said nearly all merchants in the six blocks of downtown were in favor of the floodwall project because of the impact it would have on protecting their businesses. "Within our district there was no controversy about it, and in the other levee district there was some but not a great deal of controversy," said Juden.

Not everyone supported the floodwall idea. On Dec. 4, 1957, a lawsuit was filed by L.R. Cain, who operated the Cape Boat and Sporting Goods Co. Benjamin Dietrich filed a lawsuit that attempted to halt construction.

They argued that the city would lose a major tourism attraction if the river were blocked from view, and that the end result would be a loss to businesses. Other arguments were that the wall was higher than necessary and that it would block winds and leave a river odor that would become a health threat.

The case was dismissed one day after the Corps agreed to include a floodwall gate at Themis. Earlier plans called for having a gate only at Broadway.

Juden pointed out that as part of the project, pumping stations were built, which he believes were the first pumping stations outside of the St. Louis metropolitan area. An assessment was passed in the levee district to pay for maintenance.

The end result was a positive one for downtown Cape Girardeau, Juden said. "People felt more comfortable about businesses and doing work to beautify their businesses when they realized their buildings would not be flooded," said Juden.

"As an owner of commercial real estate in the area, we were able to have people look at longer-term leases."