Federal money is available to speed up repairs of the dike surrounding Lake Okeechobee.
Senator Bill Nelson said to expect an announcement Thursday from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that the repairs should be completed in 2022 instead of 2025.
According to Sen. Nelson, the Army Corps says it will set aside $514 million to finish the project three years earlier than planned.
Last October President Donald Trump promised to speed up the repairs. He ordered officials to accelerate repairs to the aging earthen barrier overseen by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott also wanted to see the project finished by 2022.
Lake Okeechobee is the second-largest natural freshwater lake in the continental U.S.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Nelson now confirms. Money is there to speed up repairs to the Herbert Hoover Dike 3 years. @WPTV@FOX29WFLXpic.twitter.com/gjkh7QsWBh
— Alex Hagan (@AlexHagan_WPTV) July 5, 2018