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Construction is scheduled to start this week on a $9.7 million Bend Park & Recreation District project to renovate the Colorado Dam on the Deschutes River and build a new bridge for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Crews from Springfield-based Hamilton Construction are expected to begin site work on Wednesday, said Chelsea Schneider, project manager for the project. Over the next two weeks, work will involve trail construction; installation of trailers, fencing and signage; and preparation for detours around the work site.

The dam will be renovated to create three channels. One will allow recreational river floaters and fish to pass through the dam, a second will serve wildlife habitat and a third will be used by whitewater kayakers. Also, as part of the project, an existing pedestrian bridge will be removed and replaced, Schneider said.

When Farewell Bend Park opened up in 2005, it provided public access to a calm portion of the Deschutes River above the Colorado Dam that has become popular for river floating. Several accidents and one death have since occurred at the dam, Schneider said. After the renovation, floaters will no longer have to get out and walk around the dam.

鈥淭here is this structure, the Colorado Dam, that is very unsafe for people,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e want to provide a safe way for people to get through the dam.鈥�

A $29 million bond measure approved by voters in November 2012 helped pay for the project. Also, the Bend Paddle Trail Alliance, a nonprofit that supports river and lake recreation in Deschutes County, contributed $1.1 million.

Portland-based Otak is the principal engineer for the project. Carbondale, Colo.-based RiverRestoration designed the whitewater and safe passage channels. Wilsonville-based Pacific Habitat Services is the environmental consultant and Portland-based GreenWorks is the landscape architect.

The project is scheduled to finish next year. In 2016, crews will begin a related $1.6 million project to improve nearby McKay Park, including construction of new restrooms and installation of river viewing platforms, Schneider said.