Houghton, MI - Material and equipment for the new Bond Falls spillway project will arrive on site the first week of March, according to Upper Peninsula Power Company (UPPCO), a subsidiary of Integrys Energy Group (NYSE: TEG). Its appearance signals the beginning of a major project to replace the Bond Falls Dam spillway.

Last August, UPPCO announced it would replace the single main-dam spillway at Bond Falls with an automated two-gate structure in 2010. The 2010 schedule calls for installing temporary sheet piling along the edge of the reservoir in front of the existing spillway in March, demolishing the existing spillway in May, and beginning gate construction in June. C. R. Meyers is the general contractor, and local labor is expected to be used where possible. The project is scheduled to be completed in November.

Throughout the construction period, there will be heavier equipment traffic on the roads to and around Bond Falls, including roads within the camping areas. Visitors are asked to observe the new signage and speed limits where posted.

Earlier this year, UPPCO lowered the water in the reservoir as it does every year to prepare for spring precipitation and snowmelt. Lower water may result in "bridging," a condition in which the lower reservoir creates a gap under the ice. Unstable areas may not be easy to identify, so UPPCO asks the public to use extra caution around all its reservoirs and associated rivers at this time of year.