(Photo from upstream from the dam) Knies Construction is in the process of creating a toe wood shelf along the north bank of the Patoka River just downstream from the dam under the Third Avenue bridge in Jasper. The shelf is created by placing trees with their root bundles along the bank and then adding fill and vegetation to build up an artificial bank in steps. The project was bid out by the Jasper Board of Public Works in 2018 with the winning bid going to Knies Construction for a not-to-exceed amount of $150,000. High water and weather conditions since then have prevented the work from being done. (Photos by Matthew Crane.)
Narrowing the river will increase the speed of the flow and hopefully prevent the buildup of sediment that has created the large island shown in this photo. Knies Construction will also remove this sediment island with the expectation being that the increased flow rate created by the narrowing will remove the remaining sediment buildup and prevent it from accumulating again in the future. The increased flow below the dam is also expected to increase the flow further downstream when the river is low.
