CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — An 8,300-foot-long levee is coming to the flood-prone city of Milton under an agreement between West Virginia officials and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed Monday.
The structure will divide the Lower Mud River from Milton, which officials said has had six major floods between 1913 and 2015.
"It would cost an incredible amount of money to have this keep happening over and over again. We can’t afford it and we certainly can’t afford to put our people at risk," Gov. Jim Justice said in a news release.
Justice said the state has pledged $43 million to the project, to be allocated over the next several years. Federal matching funds are estimated to contribute an additional $90 million, he said.
The news release said the levee will protect more than 600 buildings in the city as well as other infrastructure.
