By Bob Mercer
Capitol Correspondent
OACOMA - The state Parks and Recreation Division wants to build a giant retaining wall to prevent more ground at Cedar Shore marina from sliding into the Missouri River.
The project is scheduled for a 2014 start. Work can’t begin, however, until after the last steps are completed on the environmental assessment and a federal agency approves its share of funding.
The popular hotel, camping, boating and conference center complex is on the river’s west bank near the community of Oacoma along Interstate 90.
The slide’s most visible effects can be noticed along the walking and biking path. Some stretches are closed where the slope has fallen away in spots. Scientific instruments measure the sub-surface movement.
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“It’s definitely jeopardizing the stability of the resort,” Al Nedved, a state parks administrator, told members of the state Game, Fish and Parks Commission last week.
The rehabilitation plan calls for building what’s known as a drilled-shaft wall 800 to 900 feet long.
Holes 5 feet in diameter will be drilled 50 to 60 feet deep to reach Niobrara chalk rock and get past the weathered clay bottom of the river there. The holes will be filled with reinforced concrete and tie-offs will be installed to strengthen the barrier.
“It’s just a very strong, very robust retaining wall,” Nedved said.
State Department of Transportation will oversee installation of riprap rock along the shoreline as needed. High water of 2011 obliterated much of the riprap that was in place. Putting the new rock in place will probably happen in fall 2014 when the water level is at its annual low.
The environmental assessment is on a schedule for an early 2014 completion. The project relies on $4 million requested from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and that approval could come as soon as Feb. 21, 2014.
Other sources of money for the project include a $3 million bond issue; $1.43 million from various revenues controlled by the state Game, Fish and Parks Department including a grant from the U.S. Coast Guard; $689,000 from the state Department of Transportation; and $250,000 from the community of Oacoma.
Nedved said the exact cost for the retaining wall isn’t set yet.
