Have you been over to Lake Johnson lately and wondered what’s going on? Why is the parking lot on Lake Dam Road closed and what’s up with some of the trail being blocked off? See the announcement below from the City of Raleigh for details and timelines.
CITY OF RALEIGH TO RAISE LAKE JOHNSON DAM
Lake Johnson Dam will be raised one to two feet to increase the facility’s capacity to handle severe rain events. The work is part of the City of Raleigh’s improvements to the dam. Work has begun on the dam rehabilitation project, with completion set for next spring.
In June 2006, rains from Tropical Storm Alberto damaged the spillway structure of Lake Johnson Dam. Emergency repairs to the spillway, the first stage of the required dam improvements, were complete in August 2006. Now the City is set to do additional improvements to the dam. Besides raising the dam, the $2.3 million project will include
- Flattening the downstream slope of the dam;
- Armoring the dam’s surface;
- Replacing gates and upgrading gate operators and controls; and,
- Providing scour protection to the dam and related structures.
These improvements are necessary and required by state law to increase the capacity of Lake Johnson Dam to safely pass flows resulting from heavy rainstorms.
As part of the Lake Johnson Dam improvements, the City of Raleigh has begun extending Lake Johnson Greenway from the north abutment of the dam along Lake Dam Road back to the current greenway south of the spillway. A new pedestrian bridge will be installed where the new greenway crosses below the spillway.
To accommodate the greenway extension, some portions of the trail near the dam have been closed though other portions remain open. The closed greenway trails are marked; greenway users are asked to stay off of them for their own safety and the safety of contractors working on the dam. Also closed are the parking lot on Lake Dam Road and the trail leading to the parking lot.
Later this summer, the greenways near Lake Johnson Dam will be closed for approximately two weeks to allow completion of the bypass greenway and related work. Once this work is complete, the bypass trail will be opened for public use. The greenway crossing over the dam will be closed in August when actual dam rehabilitation is scheduled to begin; this part of the trail will remain closed until the entire project is complete next spring. The bypass greenway will remain in use once the construction is complete to allow future maintenance operations on the dam and spillway.
For more information about the Lake Johnson Dam rehabilitation project, contact the City of Raleigh Parks and Recreation Department management staff at the Lake Johnson office, 233-2121, or Perry Allen at the City’s Public Utilities Department, 857-4540.
Tags: greenway, improvements, lake_johnson, repairs, storm water