The USACE Kansas City District has just announced a report on the actions taken to repair and mitigate damage done to river structures on the Missouri River from high water over the last several years including major flooding in 2019.
Crews have been repairing damaged structures all winter but work directly on the river has slowed recently due to dangerous floating ice. Even though river repairs have slowed, teams across the Kansas City District continue planning, engineering, and diagnostic work in preparation for major repair work that will start this Spring.
“Working with our navigator partners is key to successfully keeping the Missouri River open for navigation. We have stood up a Navigation Restoration Team that is working extremely hard and preparing for a quick start to repair work when the spring flow allows for free movement by our vessels on the river,” said Col. Bill Hannan , commander, Kansas City District.
Survey crews are currently on standby due to weather conditions. Surveys of area of concern – or AOC – and specific to upcoming design have started and will take place on a monthly cycle.
Corps of Engineers floating plants including loaned assets of personnel and equipment from the Omaha, Rock Island districts as well as specialty dredging assistance from a team of experts from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center – known as ERDC – along with hired contractors, have placed over 300,000 tons of rock to perform post flood repairs.
Kansas City District crews are working site preparations for land-based structure repairs near Cranberry Chute, at river mile 282. The extreme cold weather has put the crews on standby until conditions improve.
Newt Marine worked on multiple structures between river miles 80 through 100 over the past two weeks. They are currently on standby due to weather conditions.
A team from Ellis Construction remains at Glasgow, Mo., due to weather conditions. When conditions allow, Ellis plans to start work on structures between river miles 240-260, said USACE.