MILLER CITY ROAD WORK AWAITS LEVEE COMPLETION

MILLER CITY, Ill. -- A short stretch of the new Miller City Road will be atop the new Fayville Levee near here.

"We're in the process of completing design work for the road now," said Beth Ponce, field engineer for local roads for the Illinois Department of Transportation's district office at Carbondale. "The road follows its present roadbed except for a short distance on top of the levee."

Work on the 12-mile section of road, which stretches from Olive Branch to Miller City and then east to a Route 3 near Cache, has been placed on hold until the levee construction is complete. The road is impassable east from Miller City because of large scour holes left from last year's flooding.

A breach in the Fayville Levee near Miller City left thousands of acres of land under water in Alexander County, including portions of the Miller City road.

"One of the largest scour holes -- near the east entrance of the road from Route 3, has been partially filled, said Ponce. "The road still has lots of bad spots, including another large scour hole near Miller City."

Alexander County Commissioner Louis Maze said he hopes the road will be finished by fall.

"The levee work is about 50 percent complete," said Maze. "The target date for completion is March 31."

"We're still looking at that date for levee completion," said Ponce.

Joe Plemmons, Alexander County road superintendent, reported to the County Board recently that the Miller City road work includes resurfacing and some new culverts. He said the roadway might be usable by summer, but would not be completed until fall.

Traffic on the Miller City road between Route 3 and Miller City is now limited to one entrance near the Illinois Department of Conservation's goose hunting grounds.

"That road is located near the Old Sportsmen's Club (previously Worthington's Store)," said Forest Ice, a farmer who lives in the area.

Construction crews on the levee are back to two shifts this week. Crews worked two, 10-hour shifts a day, seven days a week until recently, when work was slowed by a sudden rise in the Mississippi River.

When the levee is completed, it will be built to a height of 342 feet above sea level.