RANDOLPH, Nebraska – The City of Randolph will break ground this week on a flood control project that has been in the making for 18 years.

The groundbreaking ceremony will be Friday, Nov. 6, at 11 a.m. near the city’s RV parking area, west of Sholes Road and east of Nebraska Street. Representatives from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE), the City of Randolph, and the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District (LENRD) will be speaking at the ceremony. All three governmental entities are partnering on this project, along with Pierce and Cedar Counties. One of the LENRD’s 12 responsibilities is flood prevention and control.

“After looking into many alternatives with the USACE, the most cost-effective option was the widening of the Middle Logan Creek channel that runs through Randolph," said LENRD Projects Manager Curt Becker. "This project will allow for a large portion of the city to be taken out of the 100-year flood plain.”

In 2017, the LENRD board approved funding up to $1.97 million for 50% of the local costs of the channel enlargement and floodplain reduction project.

“We created a sinking fund for the project and budgeted money responsibly over the last several years to help protect the future of this community,” Becker said.

The construction contract for Phase 1 of the flood risk management project was awarded to Shinn Kellogg of Albia, Iowa, for $5.78 million. Phase 1 will include removing and replacing the Bridge Street and Sholes Road Bridges and widening the Middle Logan Creek channel from just downstream of the Jackson Street Bridge to upstream of the Sholes Road Bridge.

“This flood control project will prevent numerous homes and businesses from being placed in the flood plain," Becker said. “We are not only working to protect the community from future flood events, but also to prevent the required annual flood insurance costs. We are excited to get the project underway.”

Phase 2 work will include continuation of bridge removals and channel widening with contract award anticipated in the summer of 2021 and completion in the spring of 2024.