Beaver Dam Road Project On Hold

(Beaver Dam) A Beaver Dam road project has been put on hold.  The $500,000 culvert replacement effort on Cooper Street is being paused until the Beaver Dam Lake’s water levels return to normal.  Mayor Tom Kennedy says lake levels were already above the normal winter maximum when Fox Lake officials began drawing down Fox Lake last month by opening their dams.  He says that water flowed to Beaver Dam, thus causing issues with the lake levels.  As a result, Kennedy says Beaver Dam officials opened the dam last Thursday to reduce those levels and get water flowing through the culverts on Cooper Street that have already been installed to preserve the completed portion of the project.  Kennedy hopes the project will soon resume and be completed within two to four weeks, weather dependent.  He says Cooper Street remains closed indefinitely.  While Kennedy has heard concerns over the high water levels, neither he nor Utility Director Rob Minnema says they have heard of any buildings sustaining water damage.  The project began in October and was previously delayed when water levels reached a ten-year high in the fall.  The old culverts were responsible for backing up the flow of the Beaver Dam River which, during times of heavy rain, resulted in upstream flooding.  Kennedy says residents with questions or concerns about the culvert replacement project should contact the mayor’s office.