The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Kansas City District continues to make repairs through the Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project to rock structures along the Missouri River from damages caused by the 2011 flood.
The district has received more $31 million of Disaster Relief Appropriations Act funds to repair the rock structures. This is in addition to more than $45 million DRAA dollars already received to repair damaged levees within the district.
The DRAA funding for the BSNP will be used to repair river training structures damaged during the flood event, with priority given to locations with the most damage and importance to the navigation system. Inspections of the river structures, with input from stakeholders, have shown that the most damage to the BSNP dikes and revetments are between Kansas City, river mile 390, and Rulo, Neb., river mile 498. The next priority will be to structures in Glasgow, Mo., river mile 226 to Kansas City, river mile 390.
In addition to the heavily damaged reaches, specific areas identified as possible navigation problems for the navigation industry are being monitored and repaired.
32,000 tons of rock has already been placed. This rock placement repairs the worst damage to bank revetments between Atchison, Kan., and St. Joseph, Mo., as well as areas just downstream of Rulo, Neb.
The effort to repair the BSNP structures will continue with the award of an additional $2 million contract to the current maintenance contractor. This work is scheduled to be awarded by June 15 and take place between Leavenworth, Kan., and Rulo, Neb. The remaining repairs will be completed with new contracts which are scheduled to be awarded by September 30, 2012.
Due to the extreme duration of the 2011 flood event, the amount of bank line erosion during the flood was greater than what is normally experienced. Although the structures also provide for a high degree of bank line erosion protection in addition to maintaining the navigation channel, they were not explicitly authorized or designed to prevent erosion of the bank line. Some level of erosion occurs during every flood event. Direct repair of the flood-induced erosion is not part of the BSNP authorization or DRAA funded repairs. Repairing the structures will, however, restore the level of erosion protection that existed prior to the flood.
[mappress]
Dredging Today Staff, May 31, 2012;