KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar BluffBirds Point-New Madrid Floodway update

Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway update

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MISSISSIPPI COUNTY, MO (KFVS) -

Army Corps officials overseeing the Birds Point rebuilding says work will continue through the spring.

"Operation Restore" at the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway has been funded through the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, according to Maj. Jon Korneliussen, with the Army Corps of Engineers.

Officials say this project represents the full repair of the floodway levees to pre-operational levels of protection.

Plans and specifications are in development. Contracting and construction schedules are currently under review.

Dirt work is planned to resume this spring as soon as field conditions allow, according to Maj. Korneliussen.

The district's eight-man team continued repairing the access road at the center crevasse. But, rain this week slowed progress slightly.

According to the Corps, the river has dropped back into its banks so the District has suspended visual patrols of the levee.

The river was at 24.2 feet on the Cairo gage Friday morning and is expected to rise slightly in the next few days, according to Corps officials.

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