Jefferson City preparing for more flooding; airport cleaning efforts continue

JEFFERSON CITY — Cleanup at the Jefferson City Memorial Airport continued on Monday as administrators prepared for another round of flooding.

The airport had been closed due to flooding for nearly four weeks and as of Monday afternoon, most of the airport was dried out.

With the Missouri River expected to rise and crest as water moves in from upstream, Jefferson City officials on Monday said they're preparing for potential flooding at the airport once more. City of Jefferson Operations Division Director Britt Smith said they're not exactly sure how the crest would affect the airport.

"Right now, it's forecasted for a crest of 30-feet and that is going to potentially impact our airport and the pavements, but there's a lot of area to fill," Smith said. He said currently, there are still parts of a levee around the airport that have some breaks in them and he said they're not sure how fast the river will rise, which could affect pavements and buildings.

Smith said the city is very close to allowing flights in and out of the airport, as early as the end of the week, but that could be be delayed.

"We're wanting to see what this river level actually does before we actually do that," he said.

The electrical parts of the airport haven't yet been replaced and before opening back up the airport, lighting will have to be cleaned and some replaced. In the main airport building, where Nick's Family Restaurant is located, Smith said cleanup hasn't begun yet. He said the city recently got bids for a contractor to start demolition to stabilize the building. He said Jefferson City Flying and other tenants of the airport have done extensive cleaning.

Smith said the City of Columbia has donated some of its machinery and so has Cole County and MoDOT with water trucks.

As far as Fourth of July activities go, Smith said the show will go on, as the main activities are scheduled on the south side of the river.

"We're hoping for minimal impact," he said. He said in the past, people would watch fireworks from the north side of the river, but Smith said he doesn't think that'll be able to happen due to the conditions of the river.

Overall, Smith said they're still hopeful that the airport will open by the end of the week. He said 30,000 aircraft a year fly in and out and they're ready to get back up and running.

Many locations could reach a crest above major flood stage, which could cause flooding to return to areas that recently experienced relief.