Construction company mobilizing at Bronson

By Anna Jauhola
The road above the Lake Bronson dam is closed and area residents and visitors will soon see big equipment mobilizing in the area. The first arrived late last week — a soil boring rig, taking samples to prepare for the seepage cutoff wall.
Ames Construction, of Burnsville, Minn., is the general contractor for the $28 million dam replacement project at Lake Bronson State Park. The company’s current plans are to park most of their equipment in the two parking lots on the northwest side of the lake near the boat launch and next to CSAH 28.
“One major part of the project, the cutoff wall, is about ensuring the stability of the earthen embankment,” said Stacy Smith, DNR Parks and Trails development consultant. “So you will see near the site soil boring trucks, similar to a well-drilling rig. They go down and look at the soil at a given depth to determine what would be expected for the cutoff wall.”
These trucks will be active first in the area. The dam project calls for creating an 80-foot-deep seepage cutoff wall along the lake side of the county road. The contractor will cut a trench and mix bentonite and cement with the soil to create a solid wall and stop seepage issues that caused problems with the current dam. The wall’s length will be about 1,400 feet north to south.
While Ames is working on the soil boring, the DNR will hopefully receive the final permitting required for the project. Smith said they are only waiting on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit and submittals for a water control plan from Ames.
“We’re waiting on signatures on the final documents before we receive (the Corps permit),” Smith said. “We anticipate that within the next two weeks at the longest.”
For the water control plan, officials are still considering the method of how to partially demolish the existing dam, and reviewing the soil boring and cutoff wall. Most of that has to do with paperwork.
State park staff has been dealing with lots of questions, she added. Safety is the biggest concern for the public, which is why portions of the park near the project will be closed. However, the majority of the park will be open such as hiking and skiing trails, picnic shelter, Visitors Center, Two Rivers Campground and the water tower. Park staff are planning programs and activities to help draw people to the park during construction.
The lake level has already been impacted as the lake is currently being fully drawn down. Lake, lakebed and river access are prohibited throughout the project due to unsafe conditions.
Over the next month, locals can expect to see equipment being moved in to get ready for full-on construction in the spring. There will be some people seeking temporary housing this fall while they stage equipment. Next spring, when construction gets fully underway, Ames will be seeking long-term housing in local communities for workers.