Omaha, Neb. – The final round of contracts awaiting award for repair work within the Omaha District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, following damages sustained throughout the Missouri River basin during the Flood of 2011 have been obligated with repairs to 15 impacted levee systems slated for completion by the spring of 2013.
“We completed all of our critical repairs prior to the start of the 2013 runoff season with a subsequent goal of executing the remainder of repair work categorized as being high priority work, by the end of September 2012” said Bret Budd, Chief of the Omaha District Systems Restoration Team. “To date, we have awarded contracts for all of those projects except one, and we expect to award that one within the next few weeks.”
The Omaha District Systems Restoration Team was established in the aftermath of the Flood of 2011 to focus on the execution of repairs and the restoration of levee systems to their originally designed level of flood risk reduction.
Prior to an earlier March 1, 2012 deadline, the Corps closed five breaches along Missouri River Levee Units L575 and L550, restoring several critically damaged segments of levee from Omaha and Council Bluffs south to just below the Missouri state line.
The final repair bill for the Omaha District totaled $360 million. Levee rehabilitation work came to $160 million and repairs to damages at the six mainstem dam projects totaled $200 million.
Ongoing levee rehabilitation projects are underway at or near the following locations:
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Hamburg, Iowa - L575
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Rockport, Mo. - L575
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Council Bluffs, Iowa – L624 to L627
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Omaha Flood Protection Project – R624 to R627
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South of Council Bluffs – L611-614
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South of Pacific Junction, Iowa – L601
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South of Rockport, Mo. – L536
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South of Bellevue, Neb. – R616 & R613
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South of Nebraska, City, Neb. – R573
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Ditch 6 near Hamburg, Iowa
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Mouth of the Platte River – R613
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West of Thurman, Iowa – L594
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Northeast of Peru, Neb. – R562
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Nemaha, Neb. – R548
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Rulo, Neb.- R520
Examples of repair work includes spillway repairs, under seepage control systems, repairs to Corps-owned levees that were scoured during the flood, relief wells, retaining walls, toe drains and other erosion repairs.
All of the work identified as critical and high priority repair work to the levee systems within the Omaha District is expected to be complete by March 2013. The majority of work at the dam projects is expected to be complete by the end of calendar year 2014.
Depending on the level of work necessary due to damages sustained, some of the tentative completion dates for work at the dam projects will take more time to repair, said Budd.
“Getting these contracts out the door is a huge milestone because the basin sustained millions of dollars in damages and the levee system and our mainstem dam projects are our first line of defense against flooding,” said Budd. “Though conditions have been much drier this year, the plus side is that it will allow us to get in and make a good amount of headway on some of these projects, giving us a bit more flexibility as we work to meet project deadlines.”
A contract for work on Levee 562, northeast of Peru, Neb. is expected to be awarded sometime within the next few weeks. It is the final award awaiting execution.
*UPDATE: The final contract for work on Levee 562 was awarded Oct. 17.