People have been so anxious for the dredging under the two marinas in Detroit Lake to begin that they assumed construction was starting this fall.

And this is a year when people are allowed to keep their boats at Kane’s Marina and Detroit Lake Marina into September, much longer than the past couple years.

The reality is the construction of the project, which will move 162,000 cubic yards of dirt from under the marinas and create a peninsula, is expected to start during the fall of 2025 after more than a decade of planning.

The Marion County Commissioners on Wednesday voted to accept $2 million from the federal department of Housing and Urban Development through its Community Project Funding Program.

It’s another step forward toward extending the recreation season in Detroit.

“I think this has been a long time coming project,” Marion County Commissioner Kevin Cameron said. “It’s still a long time out there.”

When will the excavation project start at Detroit Lake?

The first phase of the project, which included developing the design and figuring out what to do with the excavated dirt, was completed last year.

Now, Marion County is applying for permits and creating the engineering for the project.

Construction is expected to start in fall 2025 and be completed by the spring 2026, prior to the start of the boating season.

All of the dirt will be used to form a U-shaped 2,400-foot, 120-foot wide peninsula that would extend towards Piety Island south of the city.

The project aims to enable the marinas to operate when the water is as low as 1,525 feet above sea level. That is expected to make it so that the marinas could operate from May 1 through Oct. 1.

The design of that is to allow the tourist-dependent community of Detroit to earn more from the tourist season.

This year, boats have to be out of Kane’s Marina by Sept. 2, which is longer than in some years.

Last year, boats had to be removed by Aug. 21 because of low water levels in Detroit Lake. In 2021, it was July 11.

“It’s a wonderful investment for that community,” said Lari Rupp, an economic development specialist for Marion County.

How is the $5 million Detroit Lake project being paid for?

The $2 million in HUD funding is coming from the federal government’s appropriations from late 2022.

That money has to be used for costs associated with excavation and transportation.

Marion County has allocated $3 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds.

It also has $60,000 in money from the Business Oregon Brownfields Redevelopment Fund. And Marion County has allocated $50,000 in economic development lottery dollars.

The project has been discussed for years, but much of the delay was due to the lack of funds.

After the COVID-19 pandemic and the Labor Day wildfires of 2020 wiped out much of Detroit, more money has become available to help in the recovery.

“It takes a long time to get projects done,” Marion County Commissioner Danielle Bethell said.

Cameron said that community members had asked him about if the plan had been scaled back from initial plans. But they were informed the plan is unchanged.

“We’ve been following through from the same permits that were submitted in 2017 when they tried to excavate a certain area,” Rupp said.

Bill Poehler covers Marion and Polk County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him at bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com