Kansas City Corps of Engineers updates Missouri River channel and river structure repairs

By James F. LoweFebruary 12, 2021

Ellis Construction crew dropping rock on a damaged Missouri River Structure
From the prow of a Kansas City District work boat, see Ellis Construction working on a damaged river structure by dropping additional rock to fortify it February 3, 2021, near Glasgow, Mo. on the Missouri River.
(Photo Credit: Courtesy)
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The Kansas City District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provides a report on the actions taken to repair and mitigate damage done to river structures on the Missouri River from high water over the last several years including major flooding in 2019.

Crews have been repairing damaged structures all winter but work directly on the river has slowed recently due to dangerous floating ice. Even though river repairs have slowed, teams across the Kansas City District continue planning, engineering, and diagnostic work in preparation for major repair work that will start this Spring.

“Working with our navigator partners is key to successfully keeping the Missouri River open for navigation. We have stood up a Navigation Restoration Team that is working extremely hard and preparing for a quick start to repair work when the spring flow allows for free movement by our vessels on the river,” said Col. Bill Hannan, commander, Kansas City District.

Survey crews are currently on standby due to weather conditions. Surveys of area of concern – or AOC – and specific to upcoming design have started and will take place on a monthly cycle. To date, our survey crews have performed more than 185 riverbed studies and shared those with our industry partners.

Corps of Engineers floating plants including loaned assets of personnel and equipment from the Omaha, Rock Island districts as well as specialty dredging assistance from a team of experts from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center – known as ERDC – along with hired contractors, have placed over 300,000 tons of rock to perform post flood repairs.

Our Kansas City District crews are working site preparations for land-based structure repairs near Cranberry Chute, at river mile 282. The extreme cold weather has put our crews on standby until conditions improve.

Newt Marine worked on multiple structures between river miles 80 through 100 over the past two weeks. They are currently on standby due to weather conditions.

A team from Ellis Construction remains at Glasgow, Mo., due to weather conditions. When conditions allow, Ellis plans to start work on structures between river miles 240-260.

The Kansas City District team continues to regularly update industry partners on actions and progress via email. The operations project team holds a biweekly call with the river pilots to go over important actions, surveys and receive feedback.

Our River Engineering Section has completed a low water inspection of all river structures and is preparing a prioritized list of repairs and preliminary designs for repairs on known areas of concern to share with our partners and navigation industry.

The mission of the Kansas City District is to deliver world class programs and projects to the Heartland and the Nation to support national security, strengthen our economy, and reduce environmental and disaster risk.