DEP Begins Repairs To Collis P. Huntington State Park Dams

REDDING — The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has begun construction on five dams located within Collis P. Huntington State Park. The work, performed by Nagy Brothers Construction Inc, is expected to be complete by December.

The $1 million project will include the lowering and reinforcement of the earthen embankments, repairs to spillway structures, and the total reconstruction of three small dams on the site. A new outlet control pipe on the Huntington Pond dam will allow the DEP to regulate the water the levels of the pond to support fish and wildlife habitat.

The construction has closed much of the 878-acre park during the beginning of the season to accommodate the staging, construction, and movement of heavy construction equipment over the park’s roadways. The parking lot on Dodgingtown Road will be closed to the public for the duration of the construction project. The parking lot on Sunset Hill Road will not be closed; biking and walking access, however, will be severely limited during the construction period while work is ongoing at South Pond.

The DEP hopes to reopen the southern portion of the park (off of Sunset Hill Road) midsummer so that outdoor enthusiasts can once again enjoy walking or biking on the canopied country lanes that wind throughout the property. The northern portion of the park will remain closed to the public until December.

“Given the undeveloped nature of the park, construction work must be done during the summer months to minimize damage by construction vehicles,” said Tom Morrissey, acting chief of DEP’s Bureau of Outdoor Recreation.