AKRON, OH -- Construction is scheduled to begin after Labor Day on a $1,300,000 project to improve navigation through the "Iron Channel" that connects the East and West Reservoirs of Portage Lakes State Park in Summit County, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). Work will require the channel be drained and closed to boat traffic beginning September 10. The channel is scheduled to reopen before the summer boating season in 2002.
As part of the project, the deteriorated sheet pile wall lining, which is leaning into the channel and impeding boat traffic, will be removed and replaced. In addition, the channel itself will be straightened to ease navigation.
"We are delighted that this eagerly anticipated project will be underway shortly," said ODNR Director Sam Speck. "While it will inconvenience boaters this fall, we are confident the project's long-term improvements will far outweigh its short-term drawbacks."
Speck urges boaters who have a need to move their watercraft between the East and West Reservoirs of Portage Lakes State Park to complete the transfer before September 10 or make arrangements to trailer their boats after that date. The work will not otherwise affect boating on either reservoir or on any other lake at the park. ODNR expects to complete the project by the early summer of 2002.
Portage Lakes State Park is located south of Akron at 5031 Manchester Road. It encompasses 2,520 water acres that are open to a variety of recreational uses. For additional information, call the park office at (330) 644-2220.
For Further Information Contact:
Jerry Reed, ODNR Division of Engineering
(614) 265-6978
-or-
Jane Beathard, ODNR Media Relations
(614) 265-6860