MITCHELL, S.D. — City officials have released a detailed timeline for the Lake Mitchell restoration drawdown project, outlining the steps needed before construction can begin later this year.
Mitchell Mayor Jordan Hanson shared the project schedule this week, saying the city asked Barr Engineering to provide a clearer roadmap for Phase 1 of the lake restoration effort.
“I didn’t want any more surprises, and I’m guessing you don’t either,” Hanson said in a Facebook update.
According to the timeline, final design work is scheduled for May through June, followed by permitting from June through August. Bidding is expected in September, with a contract award planned for October.
Construction on the initial drawdown phase is tentatively scheduled to begin in October and continue through at least December 2026.
The detailed engineering schedule shows multiple permitting and review processes taking place simultaneously, including reviews by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources Dam Safety program and State Revolving Fund officials.
Other tasks include geotechnical investigations, shoreline settlement analysis and slope stability modeling before final plans can be completed.
The project timeline also includes a three-week bid period in September and a City Council authorization meeting in early October before contracts are executed and mobilization begins.
Hanson acknowledged the process is lengthy and involves several interconnected steps but said the city is trying to shorten the timeline where possible.
“We are working on compressing these times as much as possible, but as you can see, there’s a lot of things that need to happen, in a certain order and also concurrently,” Hanson said.
City officials said the project is continuing to move forward as planned.