By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Three years later, repairs of damage done by the 2019 Missouri River flood continue.
Navigation Restoration Manager for the Army Corps of Engineers, Dane Morris, reports the Corps expects to receive $270 million to complete repair of the levees broken and other infrastructure damaged by the widespread flood.
“We have been awarding contracts and performing repairs since the 2019 flood occurred,” Morris tells St. Joseph Post. “To date, we have awarded over $78 million in contracts for repair of the BSNP (Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project) navigation structures and we are approximately 50% complete with those repairs right now.”
Morris says more than 7,000 structures along the Missouri were damaged by the massive flooding in 2019. He says it will be December of 2025 before all the damage is repaired, which he adds is typical, because it takes five to six years to complete repairs following such widespread flooding.
The Corps is also working with officials from Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa to target perennially weak points along the Missouri that flood frequently and consider changes to reduce the chances of flooding.
Navigation along the Missouri River this year is uncertain, affected by an odd two-punch problem.
The Army Corps of Engineers continues to repair levees damaged by the 2019 flood even as it reduces water releases into the river due to near-drought conditions upstream.
Morris says the Corps isn’t certain yet how navigation on the Missouri River will be impacted this year.
“We are working closely with the navigation industry,” Morris says. “We’re talking with them on a weekly basis to try to understand what their need is, to understand where they’re going at any one time so we will be ready to respond.”
Morris acknowledges the Corps doesn’t have much certainty to provide barge operators, but pledges to keep everyone up-to-date throughout the navigation season.
“That’s really our strategy for this year is just keep up communication with the boats that are on the river so we know where they are and we know where issues could arise and try to attack them before they become an issue,” Morris says.
Morris says lower releases from upstream Missouri River dams will lower the Missouri River. The Corps expects to be able to maintain an eight-foot channel. Normal conditions allow the Corps to provide a nine-foot channel for Missouri River traffic.