Homeland Security
Cedar River Waterfront Naturalization Project
Amount: $1,000,000
Location: Cedar Rapids, IA
Recipient: City of Cedar Rapids
Description: In order to assist with flood protection and prevent damage to property from future flood events, the City plans to naturalize 46 acres along the Cedar River’s edge. Laying back the river banks and stabilizing them with herbaceous vegetation would help to slow and absorb flood waters. Naturalization would make it less likely that quickly moving flood waters would scour the edges of the river channel and overtop its banks. It would also work to slow and reduce the amount of stormwater runoff compared to paved surfaces or turf. The project is expected to take 15 years to complete with a minimum of three acres of naturalization per year.
Centennial Park Floodplain Management Demonstration
Amount: $1,000,000
Location: Davenport, IA
Recipient: City of Davenport
Description: The City of Davenport is seeking federal assistance for sub-surface infrastructure, grading and establishment of a sustainable landform on which to develop regional recreation improvements to be funded largely through non-Federal sources. This project will leverage significant downtown and neighborhood revitalization and serve as a demonstration project of national significance for more cost-effective, environmentally responsible floodplain management. The Centennial Park is part of a non-levee flood protection system helping to prevent flooding of downtown Davenport. Davenport is the largest river containing city in the Midwest which has designed the protection of its downtown without the use of levees.
Fort Madison Santa Fe Swing Span Bridge
Amount: $2,000,000
Location: Fort Madison, IA
Recipient: United States Coast Guard
Description: The Coast Guard, in 1992, made the 1927 Fort Madison Santa Fe Swing Span Bridge a part of the Truman Hobbs Program for bridge alteration. The Coast Guard desires that the lift span be not less than a 300 foot clearance. Mariners have long complained that the bridge is a hazard. The Army Corps of Engineers investigation concluded that the bridge posed an unreasonable obstruction to navigation. The combination of its restrictive horizontal opening and skew, severe cross currents, and prevailing winds create serious problems for tows. Within a 10-year period, the bridge had sustained 92 collisions. It is a double deck bridge with rail on the bottom and autos above. The funding would go toward the federal share of the bridge replacement, thereby moving it closer to addressing a critical transportation safety hazard and a hindrance to economic development in the Fort Madison area.
Iowa City Fire Department Training Center
Amount: $800,000
Location: Iowa City, IA
Recipient: City of Iowa City
Description: Funding will provide for the construction of a new Iowa City Fire Department Training Center. The existing facility is located within the Iowa River floodplain and was heavily damaged during the 2008 Flood. The Iowa City Fire Department Training Center houses training equipment for live fire suppression, technical rescue, hazardous materials mitigation, and emergency medical services. Relocating the training center out of the floodplain will ensure that the facility is protected from future floods and remain operable during natural disasters.
Polk County Emergency Operations Center
Amount: $650,000
Location: Des Moines, IA
Recipient: Polk County
Description: Polk County is currently renovating a building located at 1907 Carpenter Drive to include an Emergency Operations Center (EOC). An EOC enables both private and public partners to locate in one area to coordinate resources available to respond to an incident. The Polk County Emergency Operations Center is a shovel-ready project that will serve as the hub for homeland security threats for the member cities of Regional Emergency Management Commission in Polk County.
Union Pacific Railroad Bridge
Amount: $7,000,000
Location: Clinton, IA
Recipient: United States Coast Guard
Description: The United States Coast Guard Commandant has directed Union Pacific Railroad to alter the existing 102 year-old rail bridge at Clinton, IA, located on the Upper Mississippi River at mile 518.0, because it has been declared a hazard to navigation. The replacement will be constructed on the same general alignment as the existing bridge. The moveable span shall expand both horizontal and vertical clearance as necessary for the reasonable needs of river navigation. The sum, if provided, would allow for the design of the portion of the project for which the Coast Guard would be responsible.
Waterloo Emergency Operations Center
Amount: $1,000,000
Location: Waterloo, IA
Recipient: City of Waterloo
Description: This project will re-build an existing fire station with an expanded facility to house the Emergency Operations Center for the region. This project provides the critical technology and physical infrastructure needed by the Waterloo Fire and Police to operate a command center in the face of a natural or other disaster.