Lakes Project:

Loch Alpine to Restore Bridgeway Lake

By Lisa Carolin, Special Writer

Consultant says silt can stay put.

It may look like an enormous sinkhole these days, but Loch Alpine subdivision’s Bridgeway Lake is on its way to becoming one of the cleanest lakes in the area.

Michigan Landworks, based in Howell, began dredging the lake in January. The silt is expected to be removed in 60 to 90 days and the lake, also referred to as the Upper Lake, will be as good as new.

Fish will be restocked and the clean water will become a swimming hole for the residents of Loch Alpine, located off Huron River Drive in Scio Township and Joy Road in Webster Township.

The big, dirty question is what are they doing with all the silt? That’s the question that has held the project up for years because transporting silt is very expensive.

Loch Alpine residents have been talking about dredging Bridgeway and Lower lakes for the last 15 years. It took volunteers from the community many hours to come this far.

In 1998, the residents of Loch Alpine agreed to pay for a professional study. The Smith Group/J.J.R., an architectural and engineering firm in Ann Arbor, did the study. They found that the silt doesn’t have to be transported. Instead, the firm said the silt could be moved to part of the adjacent playground, which will raise the level of the playground.

Ray Bologna has been the Loch Alpine’s Lakes Committee chairman for the last three years. He credits the study for being the real turning point.

"They answered the most difficult question: What to do with the silt," he said. "Keeping it here is good both economically and environmentally."

Loch Alpine residents approved an assessment to pay for the project, which then faced a lengthy approval process from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

Approximately 6 inches of the playground’s topsoil was excavated before the dredging began. It will be replaced on top of the silt and grass seed will be planted.

The Lower Lake, called Greenook Lake, will be dredged following the completion of Bridgeway Lake. The lakes act as sedimentation ponds to block silt before it reaches the Huron River.

When water is returned to Bridgeway Lake, a separate pond will be created that will act as a retention pond for the silt. That pond will get cleaned out and should save the lake from another silt problem.

Altogether, there is expected to be some 40,000 cubic yards of silt removed. Some of it will be used to build pathways that will go around parts of both of the lakes.

Former Smith Group/J.J.R. employee and Loch Alpine resident Jim Christman is the new Lakes Committee chairman. He thinks that it will be closer to 90 days until the work on Bridgeway Lake is completed.

"The workers are in a startup phase now," Christman said. "They’re removing some trees and protecting others, and they’ve set up an access route to clear a path for the trucks. A good solid freeze would help to move things along."

The residents of Loch Alpine are excited to finally have the project under way. For them, the long wait for a clean lake soon will be over.

Lisa Carolin is a free-lance writer. She can be reached at LWCarolin@aol.com .

Reprinted from the DEXTER LEADER with permission

Copyright © 2002 Heritage Media Network