The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, awarded a $6 million contract on Friday, to repair a 1,200 foot breach on levee L611-614 south of Highway 34 in Mills County, Iowa, aimed to protect critical infrastructure along the Missouri River.
According to USACE, the purpose of the breach repair is to provide temporary flood risk reduction at the specified breached area of the levee.
The contract was awarded to Western Contracting, Sioux City, Iowa.
This particular stretch of levee has suffered extensive damage during this year’s high runoff event.
“L611-614 is one of the four sites the Corps prioritized for the initial repairs,” said Jeremy Szynskie, project manager, Omaha District System Restoration Team . “We are committed to working toward the restoration of our flood control systems and we will continue the work aggressively until they are fully restored.”
The initial repair will provide flood risk reduction to areas behind the levee including work that is ongoing on Highway 34 and I-29. The Omaha District is working closely with the M&P Drainage District who is the project sponsor, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission on this project.
“The Omaha District expects that the majority of the breach repair fill material will be sourced by using land-based equipment from material deposited by the March floods,” said USACE in its release.
The work is anticipated to be completed within 45 calendar days after the Notice-to-Proceed.