VIDALIA — The levee in Vidalia is going to be raised, and local company Kingridge Enterprises, Inc. of Vidalia was awarded the project.

A 4.1 miles stretch of the levee in Vidalia will be raised, and it will cost approximately $8 million.

The levee will be raised an average of four feet, with the U.S. Army Corps Engineers Vicksburg District overseeing the construction.

Construction will start near the southern part of the City of Vidalia but will not disrupt traffic and normal activities.

Kavanaugh Breazeale, public affairs and communications officer for the corps, said the levee enlargement in Vidalia is part of a ongoing project that has been happening for 22 years.

“They started in Missouri and they have been working their way down,” he said. “It is a part of the Mississippi Rivers and Tributaries Project.”

Breazeale said the project is another step in the process of helping the river with flood control.

The project will move south bordering Louisiana 131, after it is started north of the Natchez/Vidalia Mississippi River bridge.

Fifth Louisiana Levee Board President Reynold Minsky said the project will change the current levee from a 100-year flood grade to a 500-year flood grade.

“It is going to help protect people from floods for longer,” he said.

Minksy also said the project will meet with another levee enlargement that is currently going on south of Vidalia.

“It has been ongoing for two years down there,” he said.

The Vidalia project is going to cost approximately $8 million, plus the cost of the land, Minsky said.

Chief Operating Officer for Kingridge Enterprises Mark Jackson said Kingridge is looking forward to working on the levee.

“We are always looking for work,” he said. “And we feel pretty good about the levee enlargement.”

Jackson said Kingridge is currently working on submitting preliminary paperwork for the job, and that they are looking to start construction in the near future.

“We are anticipating a pre-construction conference with the Vicksburg District USACE on Oct. 7,” he said. “Barring any unpredictable weather conditions, we anticipate to start actual construction anywhere from Oct. 15 to Nov. 1.”

Jackson said Kingridge is based in Little Rock, Ark., but the office in Vidalia will bring some work for citizens in the area.

“We anticipate we will hire local people to take on some of the job responsibilities,” he said.

The construction of the larger levee will help the area by improving the quality of flood control, Jackson said.