MANHATTAN – Three major construction projects, led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, are in-the-works near Tuttle Creek Dam. Areas of focus include service gates 3 and 4 located in the lakeside intake tower, the Stilling Basin located below the dam, and the Spillway Bridge Deck, east of Tuttle Creek Dam. Construction is set to begin soon, and while traffic and entrance into Tuttle Creek State Park will be rerouted, the park will be fully open to the public throughout construction.

Work on service gates 3 and 4 is expected to have minimal impact to public traffic; however park visitors will have to take an alternate route to enter the park while work is done on the stilling basin and spillway bridge deck.

Highway K-13, between its intersections with Riverpond Road and Dyer Road/Spillway Marina Road, will be closed beginning February 21 for an estimated 8 to 10 months. Detour plans for K-13 will route motorists to Highways K-16, U.S. 77 and U.S. 24.

The spillway bridge project will temporarily eliminate right turns on the dam for park visitors coming out of River Pond Area’s east exit (past the park office); however, motorists will be able to turn left and go across the dam.

The stilling basin rehabilitation project below the dam will start the week of March 19 and is estimated to last 18 to 24 months. The work will result in the closure of a portion of Riverpond Road, the stilling basin parking and fishing area, the east half of Outlet Park (Blue River Nature Trail and shelters #3 and #4), and west entrance into Riverpond Area of Tuttle Creek State Park (all located in the downstream area of the dam). During the overlap of this project with the spillway bridge deck replacement, access to the Riverpond Area of Tuttle Creek State Park will only be available via eastbound K-13 across the dam.

For more information, contact Tuttle Creek State Park at (785) 539-7941 or visit the park Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TuttleCreekStatePark.

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