The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has announced major construction to Tuttle Creek Dam. (Photo courtesy Army Corps of Engineers)
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has announced the status of three maintenance projects scheduled to begin in the near future at Tuttle Creek Dam. These three maintenance projects include Kansas State Highway 13 Spillway Bridge Deck Replacement, Service Gates 3 & 4 Rehabilitation and Stilling Basin Rehabilitation projects.
Spillway Bridge Deck Replacement Project: The Tuttle Creek Spillway Bridge carries highway K-13 traffic across the emergency spillway and dam of Tuttle Creek Lake. The bridge has a deteriorated concrete deck which will be demolished and replaced. The design of the deck replacement was completed by the Corps, including coordination with The Kansas Department of Transportation as the detour for K-13 in 2016. The deck replacement construction will close K- 13 highway and is estimated to take 6-12 months to complete. This project is scheduled to start in the spring of 2017. The Manhattan community will be impacted by the bridge closure since it serves as a major entry and exit point for the city by commuters from the north, primarily western Pottawatomie and Marshall Counties, Kansas. A marked detour during the construction period will be installed as part of the project.
Service Gates 3 & 4 Rehabilitation Project: All routine water releases from Tuttle Creek Dam are conveyed through the control tower near the west end of the dam. This project will repair and rehabilitate two of the four gates used for routine releases, as well as paint embedded steel liners in the vicinity of the gates. The project limits are confined primarily to the control tower and stilling basin, with minimal traffic and access impacts to the public during construction. Construction activities of this project are expected to take 18-20 months and are scheduled to start in the summer of 2017.
Stilling Basin Rehabilitation Project: The water released from the service gates flows into the Stilling Basin below Tuttle Creek Dam and on to the Big Blue River. The Stilling Basin work includes extensive concrete removal and replacement and excavations landward of the training walls. The project will add the installation of additional anchoring to structurally strengthen the Stilling Basin wall system and will address permanent repairs to the sink hole that developed in this area in the summer of 2015. This work is expected to take approximately 24 months to complete and is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2017. The entire Stilling Basin area will be closed to all public use for the duration of the work. This work will also close the west entrance to the Riverpond State Park. Visitors wishing to use Shelters #3 and #4 in Outlet Park will have to access that area through the state park from the east. The project will also impact normal traffic flow associated with the annual Country Stampede event beginning in the summer of 2018 and until the work is complete. A marked detour during the construction period will be installed as part of the project, primarily for users of the park areas below the dam.
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