OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded $8.3 million in contracts to restore the navigation channel along a nearly 120-mile stretch of the Missouri River in Iowa and Nebraska affected by last summer’s historic flooding. The corps says the project is to repair a 300-foot-wide by 9-foot-deep channel between Sioux City, Iowa, and Rulo, Nebraska. Dikes and other rock foundations are used to create the channel and prevent erosion along the bank. Many were damaged by the high floodwaters. The repairs will take about 250,000 tons of rock and will involve cranes operating from barges. The project is in two sections — from Sioux City to Fort Calhoun, Nebraska and from Fort Calhoun to Rulo. Work is to begin within the week and be completed by September 2014.