The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and King County will conduct repair work over the next few weeks on two Snoqualmie River levees in the vicinity of North Bend, damaged in the November 2006 floods.

Contractors got started last week on projects at the Mason Thorson Extension and Mason Thorson Ells levees, two of more than 50 levees damaged in the region during the 2006 floods.

The levees being repaired protect residents downriver from about 114th Street on North Bend’s northeast side.

“It helps us, it helps the people down the road,” said neighbor Richard Kaplan.

“During the big flood a couple of years ago, the levee got breached,” Kaplan said. “They had to repair that real rapidly.”

The current work involves more permanent upgrades in the vicinity of where the levee was patched.

Funding for the project was provided by the King County Flood Control Zone District. The work will mean increased truck traffic in North Bend, particularly the area of Pickett Ave. N.E., through Aug. 15.

For more information, visit www.nws.usace.army.mil or www.kingcounty.gov/environment/WLR/river-floodplain-unit.aspx.