PORT FLOOD DAMAGE LOWER THAN EXPECTED

SCOTT CITY - Damage at the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority, caused by the extended river flooding this summer, is less than originally believed, Port Executive Director Dan Overbey said.

"We originally estimated $184,000 in damages, but now our rough guess looks like between $40,000 and $50,000," said Overbey.

"The dock came through in excellent shape; we just bladed it off with a tractor and went back to work. We still have a few things to do like cleaning up debris and determining how much silt is in the harbor."

Overbey said the port authority will be responsible for paying most of the damage costs.

Since the slackwater harbor is maintained by the Corps of Engineers, they will cover most costs to it.

"Preliminary soundings by the corps indicated about five feet of silt above the design, which is not unusual. Next week we will do a complete sounding," explained Overbey. "But preliminary soundings show that we are not in bad shape."

All costs of repairing the dock rest with the port, and Overbey said that while the dock was designed to withstand high water, no one knew for sure what would be found when the water went down.

"We knew it was a well-engineered, modern facility, but we never had that much water running over it," he noted. "So far, the results are good and hopefully our damage estimates will continue to go down."

The port is a joint venture of Cape Girardeau and Scott counties, located in parts of both counties.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has declared public entities in Cape County eligible for disaster assistance, but not Scott County. Most of the damage to the port was in Scott County.

Durward Dover, presiding commissioner of Scott County, and other officials are trying to get the designation for that county as well, which could benefit the port. But so far damage estimates are not high enough to qualify the county for assistance under federal guidelines.

Despite the extended flooding, the port authority's tonnage for 1993 is already more than twice what it was last year, which Mysie Keene, chairman of the port's board, sees as a sign the port is making progress.

"We feel good about those figures, not only for the port, but also for the companies in our area who are sending and receiving goods through the port," said Keene.

Overbey said the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department has had to delay seeking bids on the project to extend Nash Road into the port authority. It was originally planned for October, but because the high water prevented some final engineering work from being done, it was delayed.

Bids will be let early next year, however, which will still allow time for construction to begin in the spring and to be completed in late 1995 as originally planned.