Dallas Granted Extension for Trinity River Levee Repairs
NBCDFW.com
Dallas received an extension Wednesday from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete repairs to its Trinity River levees.
Dallas received an extension Wednesday from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete repairs to its Trinity River levees.
The Corps reported a list of 190 problems with the Dallas levees a year ago.
City officials say they have already repaired 80 percent of the problems, but that studies are still under way on how to solve the rest.
Questions remain about how long it will take to make those repairs and how much it will cost.
“They are still to be answered, and we’re working through those now,” said Mayor Tom Leppert. “Clearly, they’re not easy questions.”
Property owners in a large area of Central Dallas near the levees could be required to buy flood insurance if the levee problems are not solved.
“All of that property now is suddenly as if the levees didn’t even exist,” said former Dallas Councilman Ed Oakley, who owns commercial property along the area. “That’s just unreasonable.”
Federal officials are using tougher standards to evaluate the levees since New Orleans' levees failed during Hurricane Katrina.
Commercial real estate agent Bob Darrouzet, of the Trinity and Design District Merchant’s Association, said he is confident the city and the Corps of Engineers will find solutions to avoid crippling Dallas.
“You have to hope that somebody with some reason and logic in a place of authority can bring this thing under control,” Darrouzet said. “I don’t think the City of Dallas is going to let the whole Trinity Industrial District go down the tubes because of a change on a piece of paper.”
Dallas must also postpone a proposed toll road and parks in the riverbed until the levee issues are solved.
“Clearly delaying these is a frustration for everybody, but we need to reinforce that the levees are the first priority,” Mayor Leppert said. “That extension allows us to go another year and we’ll continue to work with people.”
Previous Coverage:
- Trinity River Levee Worries Sink Minor League Ballpark
- What You Should Know About the Trinity River Project
- Two More Years of Trinity Tollway Delay
- Trinity Tollway Critics: Focus on Levee Fixes
- Sand Concerns May Delay Trinity Bridge Construction
- Dam, Did Levees Just Kill the Trinity River Project?
- $30 Million Levee Study Delays Trinity River Plans
- Dallas Levee System Deemed 'Unacceptable'
