Local construction contractor KEU Inc. will be making levee repairs along the Missouri River on Lake Waconda in Cass County, Neb.
The $3.47 million contract with the U.S. Army was announced Feb. 3.
Record floods pounded the Missouri River Basin in 2019, topping levees and devastating communities. Damage estimates for the basin were well into the billions. The cost for damage to levees and flood infrastructure in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Omaha District alone was estimated at $1 billion to $2 billion, according to a report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
KEU repaired 6.3 miles of the Williston Levee Crest Road and 6.7 miles of the Williston Levee Toe Road for the corps’ Omaha District in 2019. The district is responsible for civil works and flood control and coastal emergencies in portions of Iowa and Missouri.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers advertised to a list of prequalified sources of small-business contractors that were vetted to do levee-repair work after the flooding. Out of the nine bids received, KEU was the lowest overall bidder, said Lee McCormick at the corps of engineers. The company is expected to begin work on the project within the next week and will have 180 days to perform the work.
