Low river levels are presenting a rare opportunity for the city of Davenport. They've been able to do a seawall inspection that's not often possible. The seawall extends from the Marquette street landing, just past Rhythm City Casino.
Part of it is made of newer concrete, while the majority of the wall is 100 years old and built with stones. City leaders rarely get the chance to take a look at the wall because the river is usually too high. However, Monday they were able to do that.
"What we need to have is some routine maintenance, only time you can do it realistically is when the water is down," Mayor Bill Gluba said.
Gluba said with thousands of people using the river front for everything from festivals to outdoor recreation, it's extremely important to make sure it's not falling apart.
"With all the tourists and all the folks who come down to our riverfront, we want to make sure the wall is safe sound and secure."
After navigating the rocky terrain along the wall to check things out, Public Works Director Michael Clarke said while there are several areas that need to be fixed, overall it's in excellent shape.
"I think the wall is in fantastic condition, minor areas need repair, but I think the workers that did the original construction did a fantastic job."
Clarke said engineers will come down and pin point all them specific areas that need to be repaired. He said the Levee Commission will be in charge of paying for the project, but the work should not be too difficult.
City leaders said they want to get the repairs started as soon as possible, because they are not sure how long the low river levels will last and they want to take advantage of the opportunity. They said they're not sure how much the project will cost just yet, but they do have funds available for repairs like this.
