LEVEE REPAIR WORK CONTINUING IN ALEXANDER COUNTY, PERRY COUNTY

Dredging and fill work on an 80-foot scour hole is under way along a breached Mississippi River levee in Alexander County near Miller City, Ill.

Meanwhile, work on a 1,000-yard-wide, 50-foot deep scour hole has been completed in Perry County where levee work has been under way since November. Crews and heavy equipment have been working there more than 70 hours a week.

These were the sites of two major Mississippi River levee breaks during the "Flood of 1993."

A portion of the 17-mile Len Small Levee along the Mississippi River near Miller City breached in mid-July, allowing flood waters to cover more than 30,000 acres of farm land, leaving havoc in its wake.

The Bois Brule levee break along the Mississippi River near McBride, Mo., in Perry County occurred on July 25, flooding more than 20,000 acres of land, including the Perry County Airport.

Much of the construction on the Brule levee has been completed, said Ron Viehweg, an engineer with the Corps of Engineers office in St. Louis.

"Initial repairs were provided by an interim rock levee completed Dec. 23 by Dumey Excavation," said Viehweg. "About 380,000 tons of limestone was used for the temporary levee."

Butte Construction of California, sometimes working 24 hours a day, did the sand work on the land side scour hole and a clay blanket on the river side of the levee, noted Viehweg.

"That work has been completed, said Viehweg. "Next is more work on the clay blanket, bringing the levee from its present level of 380 feet elevation to 385 feet."

The final contract will be let in late March or early April "to bring the levee to its full protection level," said Viehweg.

Workers at Miller City have had rugged going with the weather and mud problems since construction started only two weeks ago on the Len Small Levee, said Alexander County Commissioner Louis Maze.

"Construction of a new levee was scheduled to start two weeks ago, but a snowstorm which hit the area slowed work," said Maze. "Right now, they're trying to get the sand to fill the big scour hole."

The levee project near Miller City includes the construction of almost three miles of levee at two locations, requiring more than 630,000 cubic yards of fill material. It is scheduled to be completed March 30.

"Construction crews are expected to work 20 hours a day later this week," added Maze. "Four bulldozers were at work in the area Monday,, but little dirt has been moved."

Luhr Brothers Construction Co. of Columbia, Ill., submitted the low bid of $2.4 million for the levee repair. The new level will be built at an elevation of 342.6 feet, the same height as the old level which broke.