Boyer Chute channel bisects Calhoun Bend (mm633-637)

Initial discussions propose that it's possible to create a flow-through chute similar to the restored channel at Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge near Fort Calhoun, Neb. 

The old stretch of Missouri River channel designated for the project still exists today as a long topographic depression filled with cottonwood trees and woodland growth. 

Details from the corps' initial feasibility study would require the removal of about 350,000 cubic yards of soil from the old channel path to create a 7,000-foot channel. The new diversion chute, or river channel would begin near the area where Avenue G would run if extended and continued north to near Eppley Airfield.

	Hidden Lake in the Fontenelle Forrest bottomlands (mm603)

An alternate less popular concept envisions the creation of a river access similar to the mile-long Hidden Lake mitigation area in the Fontenelle Forest bottomland on the Nebraska side of Upper Bellevue Bend. The corps restored this area back to the original isolated backwater wetlands which are connected to the river at one end. Towards the hills behind Hidden Lake is the old Great Marsh, both original meandering river channel bottom-land areas below the Fontenelle Forest hills were restored by the corps in 1996.

Steve Rothe, the Corps of Engineers program manager (NW District) stated that the next step will be a more detailed study which will take about 18 months to complete at an estimated cost of $6.6 million. The U.S. Corps of Engineers, after congressional funding approval, would pay for 75 percent of the cost. Council Bluffs would get credit for a flood plain land valuation credited at or around $1.6 million. 

The city of Council Bluffs has asked the corps to also consider creating a wetland on the river

	Map shows I480 bridge and proposed pedestrian bridge. Council Bend will flow parallel to the river's east bank.

side of the levee. This is near where the DLR Group and Sigma Development Services have a current one-year extension on an option to buy land on which a proposed condominium  housing development and lake will be built. (See article: Will there be a new marina on the river?) Plans to create a marina with river access were cancelled last year because of uncertainty over future Missouri River water levels. 

This development has been named 'One Renaissance Center' and it will anchor the planned pedestrian bridge which will extend over to the Miller's Landing area on the Omaha  riverfront next to the River City Star riverboat mooring facility. 

Council Bluff's 14.4 miles of 12 foot-high protective river flood levee, constructed by the U.S. Corps of Engineers, (as authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1944 and completed in 1954) is located up to a quarter-mile from the riverbank in some locations. The compacted earth levee's proximity to the riverfront prohibits any construction with river access. The state of Iowa owns the land between the riverbank and the Council Bluffs levee. The city has recently secured an agreement with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to manage the floodplain land from just north of the I-480 Bridge, south to the Council Bluffs city limits. On the opposite bank, Omaha's protective floodwall, originally laid out and constructed in 1943, was located close to the riverfront because that bank was the natural channel side of the river. 

Council Bluffs city leaders have expressed the desire for better access to the riverfront in order

	Current pedestrian bridge concept - viewed from Miller's Landing on Omaha riverfront.

to offer opportunities for public parks and recreation. The city has hired a consultant to work on a riverfront master plan, which would include details such as trails and pedestrian bridges over the river levee. 

Ron Hopp, city parks director remarked, "In some regard, it will be a nice ... contrast to that urban feel". This contrast mentioned is in reference to Omaha's busy riverfront which, when completed, will be lined with with a restaurant-marina, office campuses and a convention center. Both Omaha and Council Bluffs have increased their recent involvement regarding riverfront development encouraged by the Back to the River effort initiated by former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb. 

It is believed by Council Bluffs city planners that the 'Council Bend' project would help restore some of the fish and wildlife habitat lost to channelizing and stabilizing the river channel. More than a half-dozen habitat restoration projects have been completed along the Nebraska and Iowa banks of the river, and more are planned. The restored backwaters are intended to provide some of the habitat that the river once had in abundance, including slow water where young fish can thrive. City leaders are hoping recent environmental concerns voiced about the Missouri River's declining health will give the project a good shot at congressional funding.