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Devils Lake, N.D. (AP) The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a $21 million contract to the Minnewaukan firm MI-TY Trucking and Excavating for the first phase of a project to raise the levee protecting the city of Devils Lake from the body of water with the same name.

Work will include raising the embankments around the Creel Bay area where wave action is a problem, from an elevation of 1,460 feet to 1,465 feet. A new pump station also will be built.

The corps might eventually raise the entire 8-mile, three-section dike up to at least 1,468 feet, which would be done in several phases at an estimated cost of up to $113 million.

The lake has more than tripled in size since 1993 because of a series of wet years. It hit a record on April 29, eclipsing the previous record of 1,449.2 feet set in May 2006, and continued to rise. On Tuesday, the lake was at 1,449.91 feet.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 10-13-09 1008CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list