PROJECT TO CONTROL FLOODING COSTS LESS THAN A DISASTER

The massive Cape LaCroix Creek-Walker Branch flood control project in Cape Girardeau should be completed by late 1997.

The project has caused inconvenience for motorists and businesses along its path. But that inconvenience doesn't compare to the flash flooding damage that has plagued the city's central west end for years.

Heavy rains this spring and summer provided a somber reminder of what could have been as the concrete creek beds along Kingshighway filled up with fast-moving waters. According to Corps of Engineer estimates, flood damages in the Cape LaCroix/Walker Creek watershed will be reduced by 94 percent.

The project was spurred by massive flash flooding in May 1986. Two elderly residents were swept to their deaths after their vehicle stalled in the 600 block of South Henderson. More than 200 people had to be evacuated from their homes and businesses. Flood damage that year alone topped the $56 million mark.

Unfortunately, the cost of the project has increased rather dramatically. At its start in 1990, cost estimates were around the $32 million mark. It is likely the final price will approach $48 million -- a 50 percent increase.

The cost of widening and concreting the channel has run much higher than expected. Weather delays have also driven up the overall costs.

The project has been costly in other ways. An Oran man, Darron L. Jansen, was killed last November when a steel beam fell from a crane and struck the worker.

A robust business climate in Cape Girardeau means that the higher costs won't require additional taxes. A quarter-cent sales tax designated for the project has generated well above estimates. The tax should generate the needed local share of $12 million. City merchants have already collected $7 million in tax revenue in 5 1/2 years. The tax runs through Dec. 31, 1999.

The Corps of Engineers is financing the remaining 75 percent.

Most of the money raised by the tax will finance the flood control project. Remaining funds will be used for a number of smaller flood-control and drainage-improvement projects throughout the city.

The fact the costs have increased dramatically is disappointing. But even at $48 million, the total cost of this project is well below the $56 million in flooding damages experienced in 1986. It is a perspective well worth remembering.