(MSC News)--A groundbreaking ceremony was held Thursday in St. Joseph to mark the start of a nearly $71 million project to repair the levees along the Missouri River.
KQ2-TV reports the project spans 17 miles of the levee system and will be divided into four phases.
The first phase of the project will completely replace the gatewell and drainage pipe that serves interior drainage for the Rosecrans Memorial Airport and nearby areas. That phase is to be completed by October 2017.
65 percent or almost $46 million of the funding for the levee repairs is coming from the federal government. The state is providing $5 million, with the remainder coming from local sources.
Buchanan County voters in August approved a quarter-cent sales tax for project. The tax is to go into effect January 1st and has a sunset clause of 4 years.
Officials expect all the phases of the project to take anywhere from five to seven years.
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