Ribbon cutting set for first part of $46m Manhattan levee project

MANHATTAN (KSNT) - A $46.2 million project being built through a partnership between the City of Manhattan and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will have a ribbon cutting this week.

From 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 9, local, state and federal officials will cut a ribbon to mark the completion of the first phase of the Manhattan Levee project. Construction on the first phase began in the fall of 2021 and was completed this September, according to the City of Manhattan.

Phase two of the project is tentatively scheduled to start in June 2026.

The levee project on the south and east sides of the city will reduce the chance of flooding by fourfold, according to the USACE. Without the levee, flood depths could exceed 15 feet and pose a catastrophic threat to the Manhattan business district.

In 2022, the City of Manhattan and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) started work on the Manhattan Levee, a project that was estimated to cost $24.8 million back in 2016. Since then, the project cost has ballooned in cost to $46.2 million.

“Other factors driving the cost increases included an increased number of major utility lines to be relocated and construction of a new stoplog closure structure on the existing UPRR tracks that was not originally anticipated in the initial 2016 cost estimate,” the USACE said in their response.

What is a stoplog? Vortex Hydra Dams describes stoplogs as elements used in flood gates to adjust the water level. You can read more about the Manhattan Levee history and project costs by clicking here.

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