Cass board authorizes canal cleanup work

WALKER -- Cass County Board authorized County Engineer David Enblom to try to have road contractors clean Roosevelt Canal and install breakwater rocks at the Agency Bay entrance as a part of the Onigum Road bridge replacement.

This is contingent upon the work not increasing overall road construction costs there.

The county highway department last fall and this spring has had a major road repaving project under way, including the bridge replacement on Onigum Road (Cass County State Aid Highway 13).

As a part of this project, fill was deposited into the canal to provide a temporary bypass route around the bridge area during construction.

Enblom said that fill will be dredged out, along with the Agency Bay end of the canal.

The sheriff's department and Leech Lake Association Inc. want to dredge the entire canal and replace rocks once marking the Agency Bay entrance to the canal, which have washed down into the lake.

The canal connects Agency and Trader Bays of Leech Lake east of Walker.

Enblom told the county board the county will have a contractor do a lot of the canal cleaning when the bridge bypass is eliminated late this spring.

He said he tried to create a possible design plan last weekend, but was told his engineering qualifications did not include figuring water wake effects and other factors for the rock jetty.

Only the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has qualified engineers to do that, Enblom said he was told, adding he is not sure whether they will have time to complete their design work in time to obtain a DNR permit before the bridge work and dredging has to be completed in May.

Deputy Environmental Services Director John Sumption suggested a new DNR permit for the rockwork might not be necessary, because there was rockwork at one time. The DNR might consider it part of the periodic maintenance work under the existing canal permit, he suggested.

Enblom, Sumption and Sheriff Randy Fisher were assigned to work with Leech Lake Association, the DNR and Army Corps to try to get the work done with the road project.