AGENCY REQUEST
FOR
BUILDING COMMISSION ACTION
April 2010
Project No. 10C4L
Agency:
Department of Natural Resources
Location:
Montello Dam, Marquette County
Project Request:
Request authority to release $165,000 Building Trust Fund – Planning to prepare a feasibility
study for a proposed 2011-2013 enumerated project to repair/replace the Montello Dam.
Project Description and Justification:
In 1962, the State of Wisconsin accepted the transfer of numerous properties on the upper Fox
River from the federal government (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers). One of these sites is the
Montello Dam. This dam creates the 2,210 acre Buffalo Lake. The DNR retained responsibility for
the operation of the dam and maintenance of its structures.
The dam consists of concrete spillway and lock chamber and a contiguous dredge-bank dike. The
earthen dike leads to an island on which the Department has developed a boat landing and
parking area operated by the City of Montello under a cooperative agreement. The dam and
dredge-bank provide the only public boat landing on the east end of Buffalo Lake, which is
Marquette County’s largest lake and an important economic asset to the region. The next
nearest public boat landing is nearly five miles west on the north shore of the lake.
The earthen dike exhibited structural problems following the floods on the Fox River system in
June 2008. The section of dike (essentially, the southern ½ of the earthen embankment) with the
apparent damage and settlement was closed to vehicle traffic - this section was typically used for
one-way traffic to the boat landing. The northern ½ of the dike (two-way traffic) remained open to
the boat landing pending engineering analysis of the entire dike structure.
The earthen dike and dam were inspected by DNR dam safety engineers and a notice was sent
stating that plans and specifications to either repair or reconstruct the dam or to abandon and
remove the dam need to be submitted to DNR dam inspections unit by October 1, 2010. Further,
the notice requires the dam needs to be repaired or removed by December 31, 2012.
With strong local support and Department concurrence to maintain the Montello Dam, the
Department is requesting funds to study options and to begin preliminary design for the repair or
replacement of the dam. The first phase of the study will include surveying, geotechnical studies
and other investigations needed to clarify the scope of work and to provide cost estimates for
alternative construction practices that would result in different treatments of the lake water level
during construction – such as a partial draw down of the lake or use of coffer dams. The study will
also provide a total project cost estimate that the Department will use to prepare a request for
enumeration in the 2011-13 Capital Budget.
The dam repair or replacement project will not only cover the dam, but will also deal with related
public use and recreational facilities including; a boat launch, boarding dock, fishing piers,
benches and a multi-use road and traffic controls related to the earthen dike. The overall project
will also address the replacement or repair of the lock chamber, water control gates and the
replacement/repair of the spillway and abutment walls.
Agency Contact: sanjay.olson@wisconsin.gov, 608-261-6453