Today, marked the start of the Levee Project. The project will be covered by the 1/4 Cent Sales Tax that was voted in by residents on Aug 4. pic.twitter.com/CwSMaAFWiy

— City of St. Joseph (@citystjoemo) November 3, 2016

The first phase of the Missouri River Levee System Project is now underway in St. Joseph.

City of St. Joseph and Buchanan County Officials as well as the Army Corps of Engineers broke ground Thursday afternoon on the $70-million project. The state supplied $5 million, and another $8 million comes from the city, county and levee districts. The quarter-cent sales tax approved in August will contribute about $11 million.

The first phase of the project will completely replace the gatewell and drainage pipe that serves interior drainage for Rosecrans Memorial Airport and nearby areas. This phase is expected to be completed by October 2017. As part of this first phase, the final design of all remaining phases will be completed to ensure consistency.

Officials said the levee repairs will help protect the airport and the 139th Airlift Wing, thousands of jobs, and $2 billion in public and private assets in the protected areas of the federal levees.