In the 1960s the Army Corp of Engineers moved a whole lot of dirt, and now, they are moving it back.
Moving 2.5 million cubic yards of material at the cost of $28 million is simple, brute-force work. Each day, the trucks move enough earth to fill a football field almost three feet high.
By the end of day eight more water will be replaced with dirt. The water will be pushed into oxbows that have been closed off for decades.
“It’s kind of like connecting the dots,” said restoration expert Chuck Wilburn.
Within weeks the change is dramatic.
“The first project was finished on ’01, so when you look at the recovery, it’s really very difficult to see where we’ve actually restored,” Wilburn said. “It’s very satisfying.”
Thanks to the dry weather, the restorers are working ahead of their fall deadline. The projected finish date for the entire $578 million river restoration is 2011.
Day eight ended for the team at Bluff Oaks. Day nine they’ll travel down the restored part of the Kissimmee River.