Crews have started emergency\u00a0construction work\u00a0on a portion of a\u00a0central Michigan\u00a0dam that collapsed last spring and contributed to flooding that destroyed homes and forced the evacuations of about 10,000 people.<\/p>\n
Excavation work will be done below the Edenville Dam in Midland County, according to\u00a0state officials.<\/p>\n
The dam failed during a steady rain in May, draining Wixom Lake and unleashing the Tittabawassee River, which then overwhelmed the Sanford dam, about 140 miles (225 kilometers) north of Detroit.<\/p>\n
Work also is being done inside the Tobacco River spillway in Gladwin and Midland counties to prepare it for being lowered by 21 feet (6.4 meters), officials said.<\/p>\n
Lowering the spillway crest is expected to alleviate concerns about the stability of the remaining dam embankment, restore natural flow to the Tobacco River, reverse negative impacts on\u00a0natural resources\u00a0and seek to avoid another major flooding event when winter snow melts and spring rains arrive.<\/p>\n
Crews are expected to complete the project in about 2\u00bd months.<\/p>\n
Michigan\u2019s\u00a0Transportation department\u00a0and the Department of Environment,\u00a0Great Lakes\u00a0and Energy approved $2.3 million for the work.\u00a0Federal funds\u00a0will cover about 75% of the cost.<\/p>\n
Dam operator Boyce\u00a0Hydro Power, which has filed for\u00a0bankruptcy protection, has blamed the state and residents, accusing them of insisting on high water levels.<\/p>\n
The Edenville Dam is classified as a high hazard dam. Another collapse could result in severe downstream flooding, according to the state.<\/p>\n
A temporary causeway bridge also will be built to replace one destroyed by floodwaters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Crews have started emergency\u00a0construction work\u00a0on a portion of a\u00a0central Michigan\u00a0dam that collapsed last spring and contributed to flooding…\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3264,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n