Corps of Engineers says work progressing on levee repairs; more flooding expected this year

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A contract to repair Missouri River levees outside Jefferson City is out for bid, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers told local officials Monday.

Representatives from several Missouri levee districts met with state officials and Corps officials Monday in Jefferson City to hear an update on the status of infrastructure repair.

Only one step remains before the reconstruction of the levees in the Capital View Drainage District can begin, Corps officials said. The contract on that project is currently up for public bid and representatives from the Corps will give prospective contractors a tour of the site Tuesday.

Several landowners and levee district officials raised concerns about the planned repairs, saying the levees must not only be patched up but improved to better shield land from Missouri River floodwaters.

The funding for the Capital View levee repairs is secured in the budget in a fund that will also finance the proposed Missouri River Basin Study.

John Grothaus, chief of the Corps' Kansas City Formulation Section, said there is "a definite risk of flooding" in 2020.