Rochester’s $15 Million Silver Lake Project Delayed Nearly a Year

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A multimillion-dollar project to revamp Silver Lake in Rochester is being postponed for nearly a year.

The City of Rochester issued a news release today announcing that, due to state and federal permitting delays, the start of the Silver Lake Dam Modification and Sediment Removal Project is being shifted from this November to September of next year. The city had already issued a request for construction bids on the project, but that process has now been canceled.

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State and Federal Permits Stall Construction Start

City officials say they’ve identified two reasons for the permitting delays. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has indicated it needs additional time to carefully review the design for the project’s recreational wave pool feature, which is being described as the first of its kind in the state. A news release says the DNR is considering the Rochester project as a “potential model for similar projects in other communities across the state.”

City of Rochester

The city is also waiting for the project’s permits to be approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A news release says the federal agency is dealing with “ongoing staffing shortages.”

Costs Rise if Work Begins Later in Winter

City officials say the planned start date this November was chosen to take advantage of what the news release describes as optimal winter construction conditions. Lower river flows would reduce costs and minimize disruption to nearby businesses and recreational users of the lake. The news release also states that beginning the project later in the winter would increase costs by shortening the construction schedule and would have greater impacts on the area.

City of Rochester

The news release also notes that shifting the construction schedule to next September will still meet all of the deadlines associated with the grants awarded to help fund the project and does not impact the operations of the existing dam or the city’s flood control system.

The Rochester City Council was presented with revised cost estimates for the project in July that put the price tag for replacing the existing dam and dredging the lake at about $15.1 million.

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