By Jacob McLeland
Cape Girardeau, MO – Unless more funding comes their way, the Army Corps of Engineers will have to divert resources away from some projects in order to rebuild the Mississippi River flood control system.One of the Corps' priorities is maintaining the river channel at Kentucky Bend, the state's western-most parcel separated from the rest of the state by the Mississippi River. Corps spokesperson Bob Anderson says the river tried to change course there. He says it ripped out a large chunk of the river bank that includes concrete revetment.
"If the river were to change course at that location you would have many millions of dollars worth of navigation improvements that would be lost because the river had changed course. That would be pretty costly to the American taxpayer and the folks who need a reliable navigation channel."
Other high priority projects include the reconstruction of the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway and multiple repairs at Cairo, Illinois. The Corps estimates repairs will cost between one and one-and-half billion dollars. At this point, Corp officials have transferred 52 million dollars from surplus budgets of other projects but Anderson notes additional transfers are likely.