Star News - Connecting Our Communities

Alliant Energy will close the parking lot area at its Prairie du Sac Dam during the first two weeks of December. The company is pausing work on its dam improvement project for the winter, and the barges being used during construction need to be removed from the river. The closure will allow over two dozen large construction vehicles to remove parts of the barges and take them offsite.

“Safety is always our number one priority, and when the barges are being taken out, there will be a lot of large vehicle traffic coming in and out of the parking area,” said Kathryn Wilhelm, Alliant Energy manager of strategic projects. “We understand this causes some short-term inconvenience for those who enjoy recreational activities on our property. However, with the staging going on in our parking lot, we want to make sure everyone is safe.”

The parking lot area will be closed to public vehicle and pedestrian traffic from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, December 3, through Friday, December 14.

The first phase of the dam improvement project has been completed. The overall project is expected to continue for the next few summers, with each phase following a similar process of bringing in barges in the spring and removing them in the fall. This will require a similar closure of the parking lot area in spring 2019.