Cost Increase Will Not Slow Jeffersonville Canal

A possible $13 million cost increase will not set back the Jeffersonville Canal project in southern Indiana. In fact, the project's developers say construction could begin before the summer.The canal is designed to carry rain water to the river, which will keep sewers from overflowing and bring Jeffersonville in line with federal regulations. But developers must also follow regulations on how much river water can flow back into the city. That could bring the total cost of the project up to $65 million.But project manager Peggy Duffy says it would cost even more to build something other than a canal and still meet federal standards."They would've been more expensive to deal with using traditional pipe methods for Jeffersonville and for the way Jeffersonville is laid out. So this is something we would have to do anyway, and the construction cost is still practical."The project is still in the early design stages. Duffy says the final design will be completed next year. If environmental approval and permits are granted, construction could start in the first six months of 2011.