Fate of riverbank plan uncertain
Fall hearing seeks input, adjustments to delayed stabilization project
Tim Ruzek
Issue date: 9/10/01 Section: Campus News
A state examiner will decide the future of UW-Eau Claire’s proposed almost $1 million Chippewa River bank stabilization project on campus in late fall.
The state’s Department of Administration will hold a hearing, which does not have a date set, but is expected to begin in October or November, said Dan Koich, a specialist with the Department of Natural Resources who has dealt with the project.
The hearing probably will be held in Eau Claire and consist of a full day of testimony and then an examiner’s decision possibly a few months later, he said.
The decision from the hearing will either allow the project to go on as planned, not happen at all or be built with some adjustments to the original plans, Koich said.
The riverbank project, which had been planned last spring and was to be finished over the summer, addresses the university’s concern for the gradual eroding of the river bank along Garfield Avenue.
Engineers have determined that there is an erosion problem that risks eventually damaging the road and utilities pipes there, said Vice Chancellor Andy Soll.
According to current design plans, a 1,200-foot long bank of limestone rock chunks would extend from before the footbridge downstream toward Putnam parking lot. The bank would extend 32 feet into the river channel.
University officials hope either the hearing will allow the project to happen or that someone will provide evidence showing that the project is not needed, Soll said.
“We continue to believe the project is necessary,” Soll said, adding that if the state allows the project to go ahead, he thinks construction wouldn’t start until after the spring semester of 2002.
The fall hearing will provide an opportunity for all of the facts and observations to be brought together in one place, Soll said. From it, the university hopes to get a more defined direction as to the project’s design and an idea of any desired changes to it, Soll said.
The state’s Department of Administration will hold a hearing, which does not have a date set, but is expected to begin in October or November, said Dan Koich, a specialist with the Department of Natural Resources who has dealt with the project.
The hearing probably will be held in Eau Claire and consist of a full day of testimony and then an examiner’s decision possibly a few months later, he said.
The decision from the hearing will either allow the project to go on as planned, not happen at all or be built with some adjustments to the original plans, Koich said.
The riverbank project, which had been planned last spring and was to be finished over the summer, addresses the university’s concern for the gradual eroding of the river bank along Garfield Avenue.
Engineers have determined that there is an erosion problem that risks eventually damaging the road and utilities pipes there, said Vice Chancellor Andy Soll.
According to current design plans, a 1,200-foot long bank of limestone rock chunks would extend from before the footbridge downstream toward Putnam parking lot. The bank would extend 32 feet into the river channel.
University officials hope either the hearing will allow the project to happen or that someone will provide evidence showing that the project is not needed, Soll said.
“We continue to believe the project is necessary,” Soll said, adding that if the state allows the project to go ahead, he thinks construction wouldn’t start until after the spring semester of 2002.
The fall hearing will provide an opportunity for all of the facts and observations to be brought together in one place, Soll said. From it, the university hopes to get a more defined direction as to the project’s design and an idea of any desired changes to it, Soll said.