Cleanup and rebuilding efforts continue in the Dubuque area — more than four months after a record-breaking rain storm pounded the Mississippi River city. Dubuque Public Works director Don Vogt says some of the worst damage was to the city’s wastewater treatment plant and a new treatment facility being built nearby.
“The final damage estimates for those two facilities was right around 2.5 million dollars and the building schedule for the new plant was set back about four months,” Vogt said. More than a foot of rain fell in parts of southern Dubuque in a 24-hour period between July 27 and 28.
Bridges and roads were closed by the flooding and firefighters rescued several residents from flooded homes. Most of those home owners are still trying to rebuild their lives. Vogt says three homes were destroyed while 32 other homes had “major damage.” Those home owners were denied federal assistance because the storm impacted such a small geographic area of the state.
FEMA has awarded funding to the city and county to rebuild infrastructure. And just this week, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded nearly $1 million to help repair more Dubuque area roads and bridges. Most of that money will be used to repair the North Cascade Road Bridge, which has been closed since the flood.
“The folks who live outside the city and come in on that route, North Cascade Road, it’s a bit of a detour for them to get into the city where most of them work and shop,” Vogt said. Dubuque and Jackson Counties were declared Presidential Disaster Areas.