The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Omaha District has awarded a contract for $1.17 million to Newt Marine Service of Dubuque, Iowa for repairs to shallow water habitat at Fawn Island in Harrison County, Iowa.
Work will begin this month with completion expected by April 2016.
The Fawn Island chute was constructed in 2010 to benefit the federally endangered pallid sturgeon and other native fish and wildlife species.
The construction project will repair damages to existing shallow water habitat caused by the 2011 Missouri River Flood.
Repairs to the chute will include removing approximately 7,000 cubic yards of material to securely entrench four new stone revetments, totaling approximately 2,612 linear feet. Seventeen spur dikes will be created along these revetments to direct flows away from the bank and relieve pressure on the revetment.
Approximately 18,000 tons of new quarried rock riprap will also be placed. Once the repairs are made, the chute will be reevaluated to determine whether it can be reopened and flow through restored.
These repairs are being made under the Corps’ Missouri River Recovery Program, which helps to fulfill the requirements of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2003 Amended Biological Opinion for the Operation of the Missouri River Main Stem Reservoir System, Operation and Maintenance of the Missouri River Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project, and Operation of the Kansas River Reservoir System.