Stream bank work to begin at Route C bridge
FILE PHOTO
Motorists crossing the Nodaway River on Route C in northwestern Nodaway County may encounter single-lane traffic over the next several weeks as crews apply riprap in an effort to stabilize the eroding riverbank.
CLEARMONT, Mo. — Travelers on Route C west of Clearmont will likely encounter crews working on the banks of the Nodaway River over the next several weeks.
Stream bank stabilization at the Route C bridge is to begin Monday. The effort is a joint project planned by the Missouri Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
The agencies have hired Festus-based Above and Below Contracting to carry out the chore of lining the eroding riverbank with riprap.
Unless the bank is stabilized, MoDOT officials fear continuing erosion will undermine the bridge’s structural integrity.
Crews are expected to be on site from daylight to dusk Monday through Thursday at the river crossing approximately two miles west of Clearmont. Work is expected to continue through December unless delayed by bad weather.
Motorists should expect single-lane road closures while the project is underway. When the roadway is narrowed, flaggers will direct motorists through the work zone.
NRCS announced the project back in April. Federal funding consists of $1.2 million in Emergency Watershed Protection Program money earmarked for riverbank stabilization in Nodaway County related to storm damage that occurred during the summer of 2015.
According to an NRCS release, the Missouri Department of Transportation is serving as project sponsor for the effort and is also providing a 25 percent state funding match for repairs along the 2,000-foot stretch of affected shoreline.
Under current regulations, Emergency Watershed Protection projects must be sponsored by a state agency — such as MoDOT — or local governments like a city or county.
“A terrible storm tore through Nodaway County in July of 2015,” said State Conservationist J.R. Flores in a prepared statement. “Flooding endangered an access road used to transport farm products to market and put several hundred people at risk. The funding we’re providing will help make the necessary repairs both up and downstream on the Nodaway River.”
Flores said Emergency Watershed Protection funds are allocated to help people rebuild after natural calamities, and that such efforts also pay for improvements designed to reduce the scope of damage that could be caused by future events.
He added that the program provides technical and financial assistance intended to reduce hazards to life and property from floods, ice storms, earthquakes, and tornadoes, or any other natural event causing watershed impairment.
Late last year, Nodaway County used NRCS funds to carry out stream bank stabilization work at four locations. The county has no involvement in the Route C project.
For more information, call MoDOT at 888-275-6636 or go to www.modot.org/northwest and view the online traveler information map.
