By AP/KWMU
Alton, Ill. – Officials who maintain the Wood River Levee are warning that critical parts are aging and must be repaired to avoid major failures.
The St. Louis-area levee was built half a century ago on the Mississippi River, and levee officials said last week that structure is past its life expectancy.
Repairs and improvements could cost about $24 million. The federal government would pay about 65% of the cost.
The other $8.3 million would have to come from local property taxes collected from people who live within the levee district.
There are 26 miles of walls that surround thousands of acres in and around Alton, East Alton, Wood River, Roxana, South Roxana and Hartford.