Coralville gets $7M for flood project

CORALVILLE - Coralville got some good news Monday for its top flood-related project.

The city has received nearly $7.2 million in federal funds to elevate the CRANDIC railroad behind Highway 6 and build a new railroad bridge over Clear Creek, Sens Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin announced.

Water went over the tracks during last year's flood and sent several feet of water into a major thoroughfare and business district.

The railroad tracks will be elevated an average of four feet.

It is the city's top priority among its flood-related projects, City Administrator Kelly Hayworth has said. That's partly because much of the other work the city wants to do relies on the Iowa River being kept at bay in the area near the tracks.

The federal money, which came from the Economic Development Administration, was not a huge surprise. In May, the city received word that it was getting $2.5 million in federal funds, and Hayworth said at the time that the city expected to receive an additional $7.2 million.

The project will cost an estimated $9.6 million, Hayworth said. In May, he said work was likely to start in spring 2010. It was not known how long it would take to complete.