Army Corps Awards Contract for Levee Project in Lowell Park

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Friday awarded a $722,000 contract to the St.. Paul-based Povolny Group to begin construction of the Lowell Park levee project in downtown Stillwater.

Stage 3A of the flood-damage reduction project consists of constructing interior drainage features near Lowell Park that will enhance the city's ability to fight flooding in this location.

Construction is anticipated to begin late May, weather permitting, according to the Corps. Construction is expected to last about four months.

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This project dates back to 1992.

The Corps has completed the first two stages of the project—a double-retaining wall running from Nelson Street to north of the Gazebo was in 1997; and a double-retaining wall was extended around Mulberry Point in 2002.

Funding was earmarked for this project and has been authorized by Congress twice and then used for flood efforts following the Fargo flood in 1997 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

When complete, the project will raise the elevation of Lowell Park by a few feet, but the plan is for trails to run above the wall—and the park will be graded so it doesn't look like a levee when it is complete.

The levee will be built to withstand a 50-year flood. A 3-foot tall sandbag levee would give 100-year flood protection.