CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - Cedar Rapids officials gathered with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers leaders and members of Iowa’s congressional delegation for a groundbreaking ceremony of a new flood gate to protect part of downtown from Cedar River flooding.
The 4-foot (1.2-meter) thick gate will be 14 feet (4.3 meters) tall and 67 feet (20.4 meters) long and will hide behind a flood wall when not in use, the Gazette reported. It can be rolled into place within about 30 minutes to protect the New Bohemia business district when the river rises.
A contract to complete the $2.4 million gate was signed last week, and construction will likely begin later this year or next spring, said Jason Smith, a program manager with the Corps.
The city has been slowly assembling a $550 million flood control system since devastating floods ravaged Cedar Rapids in 2008. Last year, the Corps announced approval of $117 million federal funding for flood protection in Cedar Rapids. Of that, $41 million must be repaid by the city.
City officials have estimated the full east side system would cost $245 million.
Tuesday’s groundbreaking signaled an uptick in the pace of construction on the project, officials said. A contract for a levee system just downriver is expected to be awarded over the winter, with construction to begin in the spring, Smith said. Soon after that, several other flood protection projects will on the east side that are expected to be completed by early 2023.
“My whole goal in the Corps of Engineers is to revolutionize the Corps to be able to make us more streamlined, to be able to get projects done, high quality projects, ahead of schedule and under costs,” Lt. Gen. Todd T. Semonite said Tuesday.
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Information from: The Gazette, http://www.gazetteonline.com/
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