The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a $6.3 million contract for a dam removal and river upgrade project in Traverse City.
Michels Corporation of Brownsville, Wisconsin, will remove the Boardman Dam and restore sections of the Boardman River.
Carl Platz of the Army Corps says the project will help rebuild the aquatic ecosystem and return the river's natural flows toward Lake Michigan's Grand Traverse Bay.
It's part of a broader environmental restoration initiative for the Boardman that includes upgrading fish passage and wildlife habitat, restoring wetlands and establishing native plant communities.
The project will enhance movement of woody debris and sediment through the river system and the balance between cold- and cool-water species.
The contractor is scheduled to begin work this spring and finish by December 2018.
