Corps to shut down work on levee

CAPE GIRARDEAU (AP) - High river levels and forecasts for more rain have prompted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to halt repair work on a Mississippi River levee that was blown up earlier this year at the height of flooding along the river.

The corps said Tuesday that it will begin closing down its repair work on the Birds Point project area because forecasts call for sustained high river levels and additional wet weather. The planned shutdown will take about 10 days, said Maj. Gen. John Peabody, commander of the corps' Mississippi Valley Division.

The corps said the recent rain has hampered its efforts to restore the levee, which was 62.5 feet high before the explosion. The corps has been working to raise the levee to 55 feet before the spring rainy season.