GREENWICH TWP. For years, Gloucester County officials have feared the worst when talking about the floodgate and levee system along the Delaware River.

Rather than continuing to point fingers, it was decided to take action.

On Monday, completion of the first phase of the project along Floodgate Road was celebrated.

"The reconstruction and repairs of the Repaupo Creek floodgate have been a critical public safety issue since the 1960s, but no one would take responsibility to fix the situation," said Freeholder Director Stephen Sweeney. "We decided we were going to fix it now and decide who was responsible later."

The long-dilapidated floodgate, cost $3.6 million to replace. As part of this project, the county also secured 900 feet of the levee by raising it from seven to 11 feet in height.

"For far too many years, even the threat of a storm has brought about evacuations, teams of public works employees building walls with sand bags and other emergency operations to keep our citizens and our infrastructure safe," said Sweeney.

Only a handful of residents call Floodgate Road home, but officials have assured that a breach of the levee would spread far beyond Greenwich and Logan townships.

Many have predicted that a severe flood would take out major portions of Interstate 295 and the New Jersey Turnpike, and would cause severe damage as far away as Glassboro.

Many in attendance on Monday said damage would be in the "billions" and there was a fear that there would be casualties.

"This could have been a place where South Jersey's ÔKatrina' happened," U.S. Rep. Robert Andrews said in reference to the deadly 2005 Hurricane Katrina.

This phase of the project was funded through a partnership with the county, state, and Logan and Greenwich townships.

Those standing on the new floodgate which is also known as a sluice gate said they are not done yet.

"This is a midpoint in getting this problem solved," said Andrews, D-1st Dist., of Haddon Heights. "The job is not done until the levee wall is built."

The goal is to build up 5,000 feet of the levee wall from seven feet in height to 11 feet.

That phase of the project is still under design, but could cost another $9 million to complete.

Funds were shifted around to get this project off the ground, including federal dollars being used to replace the bridge on Route 44 so that the county could use the money it had for that project on the floodgate repairs.

"We will find a similarly creative way to get the levee done," Andrews said.

Those who have called Floodgate Road home over the years praised the project.

Raymond Burt spent most of his life living with his family on the troubled roadway.

In years passed, Burt said he was paid $20 a week to keep the floodgate cleaned of debris. He would check the banks regularly to make sure there were no major problems.

"I'm sure glad they got this done," he said Monday, "because I went through a lot of floods in my time. The sluice gate was deteriorated. It wasn't doing any good."

Calvin Fisler said he has been forced to tie his canoe to the front door in order to navigate his flooded property.

"I've worn boots for weeks on end just to get in and out of the house," said Fisler. "This could have totally wiped out and would have been a rush of water like you couldn't believe."