A contract for major construction work to Tuttle Creek Dam has been approved, according to a press release from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Friday.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District, announced the award of a contract to Wildcat Construction Company Inc., of Wichita, on June 30. The contract is for the replacement of the spillway bridge deck over the dam’s emergency spillway at the east end of Tuttle Creek Dam in Pottawatomie County.
With this contract award, the project will begin later this summer and is estimated to last 6-12 months. This will result in the closure of a short section of Highway K-13 over the dam, and will temporarily eliminate right turns for traffic exiting the east Riverpond State Park entrance onto Highway K-13. This is a full deck replacement for the nearly 60-year-old bridge.
Detour plans have been developed with the Kansas Department of Transportation for the closure of the K-13 roadway over the dam. The bridge closure will have motorists using K-16 Highway, U.S. 77 and U.S. 24 highways as the detour route.
Day use and camping facilities will remain available to the public during the bridge replacement, however construction equipment will be in the area and visitors should be aware of the clearly marked construction areas and should follow the marked detours. Boating will also continue to be available on Tuttle Creek Lake.
The bridge replacement will not affect the normal operation or the integrity of the dam. Plans are in place to allow time for the removal of construction personnel and equipment in the event of a high-water event that would require water releases from the emergency spillway. This spillway has been used only one time in the history of the lake, during flooding in the summer of 1993.
Tuttle Creek Lake’s webpage will provide updated construction schedule information on the progress of the project as it becomes available at www.nwk.usace.army.mil/Locations/District-Lakes/Tuttle-Creek-Lake/.
Traffic information will be available on the KDOT website at www.ksdot.org.
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