Historic mural will soon be an empty canvas on the Arkansas River levee

It’s a levee that turned into a big painting. Now a group in Pueblo wants to trade the world’s largest outdoor mural for safety in the Steel City.

The Pueblo Conservancy District said the Arkansas River levee is not up to FEMA’s standards.

“We got several places where they are either buckled up or sunk down and there are some big cracks there,” District Engineer Rick Kidd said.

The Pueblo Conservancy District is a group made of representatives from the city and county.

If the levee is not up to par with FEMA, businesses and homes in downtown Pueblo near the Arkansas River levee will have to buy flood insurance, which can cost at least $500 a year.

But a levee that is up to FEMA’s code can make the businesses and homes exempt from getting flood insurance.

In order to make the repairs, workers will have to cut 12 feet off the top of the levee and replace the concrete face, which means the mural will no longer be there.

The Arkansas River levee mural is in the Guinness World Records as the world’s largest outdoor mural. Kidd said the levee is 2.8 miles long.

Harley Cordova said she sits in the middle of the Arkansas River levee every day to relax. She said she will be sad to see the mural go away.

“It’s someone’s talent; it is beautiful. I think there needs to be more and updated,” she said.

Kidd said he doesn’t want to tear down the historic landmark, but the city’s safety comes first.

“Our responsibility is to maintain life, health and property for residences and businesses in downtown Pueblo,” he said.

Kidd said when repairs are complete, the levee will be like an empty canvas for people to paint another mural.

Repairs on the levee will cost about $13 million. Kidd expects work to start in November at the 11th Street Bridge. He estimates work will be complete in about four years.

He said the money is coming from maintenance assessment fees from everyone in Pueblo County except nonprofits.