Boxelder Basin floodplain project moves forward
By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News
Despite ongoing protest to the Boxelder Basin Regional Stormwater Authority,
the project to remove about 5,000 acres from floodplain status is moving
along.
Phase I of the project, which will enlarge Clark Reservoir and widen the
Inlet Canal flowing into the reservoir, should be mostly complete by the
end of 2011, according to Larimer County engineer Martina Wilkinson. The
$4 million project will be bid out in two separate contracts, she said.
The first contract, for which bids will be opened Dec. 8, will include
construction of a new County Road 7 bridge over the Inlet Canal. The bridge
is located south of CR 70 and west of Clark Reservoir. The county will
hold a pre-construction meeting for affected residents in early January,
when citizens will be apprised of road closures due to construction.
The second contract will be advertised in March, Wilkinson said. This part
of the project will involve the dredging of Clark Reservoir and widening
of the Inlet Canal. The dredging will be done next summer, Wilkinson said,
and the canal will be widened in late fall after the irrigation season
ends.
When Phase I is complete, more than 200 homes in Wellington plus Eyestone
Elementary and Wellington Middle School will no longer be in the Boxelder
floodplain. The requirement for flood insurance in that area will "go away"
once floodplain maps are revised, Wilkinson said, likely sometime in 2012.
On Dec. 16 at 10 a.m., the county commissioners will hold a work session
to discuss Boxelder fees and boundaries.
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