Coralville city engineer happy with removable flood walls

Watching removable flood walls rise on both sides of the Clear Creek bridge in Coralville is a premature victory against future floods for city engineer Dan Holderness.

"This is a huge step for us," Holderness said. "We'll be able to protect the whole area," Holderness said.

City crews began a "practice run" to temporarily build the walls Tuesday night.  The walls are part of a bigger flood protection project paid for by former Governor Chet Culver's I-Jobs bill.  The city shut down the popular travel way to test the design around8 p.m. Tuesday.  Crews were able to begin taking down the walls before the Wednesday morning commute.  Holderness said the speed of the construction was a pleasant surprise.

"We're pleased with how they fit, and we're pleased with the short amount of time they take to put up," he said.

Holdreness said all construction along First Avenue should be complete by the end of June.  The city will then start building levees behind businesses near Clear Creek, Holdrness said.

The newly constructed Clear Creek Bridge stands above the city's 100-year flood plain.  The bridge is not high enough to stand above floods of higher levels, so Holderness said that is why the city opted for the removable flood walls.  If necessary the walls would cut off the bridge to both the North and the South to hold back high water levels.  The walls would hold back water levels experienced in both the 1993 and 2008 floods, Holderness said.