INSPECTION SHOWS FLOODWALL SOUND

Cape Girardeau's more-than-30-year-old concrete floodwall and earthen levees remain sound, a two-day inspection shows.

The entire length of the Mississippi River floodwall was inspected by representatives from the Corps of Engineers, the local levee district and the city.

The 4,000-foot-long floodwall appears to be holding up well, said Wayne Moore, sewer maintenance and storm water supervisor for the city.

Corps official Siegmar Groetsch said, "We didn't find anything out of the ordinary."

The floodwall inspection is just one of many levee inspections the Corps makes periodically.

"It is kind of like checking the oil in the engine of your car. You have to lift the hood once in awhile," said Groetsch with the Corps office in Cape Girardeau.

The floodwall and earthen levees extend more than 7,200 feet from Sloan's Creek on the north to the river bridge on the south.

The flood protection system includes two pumping stations, five gates and six drainage structures.

The entire project cost more than $4 million. Construction began in 1956 and was completed in 1964. The floodwall protecting the downtown area was completed in 1958.