An engineering firm hired Tuesday to design the demise of the Rapidan Dam expects it to disappear by the end of 2028, 118 years after the structure was completed southwest of Mankato.
Barr Engineering was selected by the Blue Earth County Board Tuesday to draft the complex plan for the removal of the 87 foot high concrete dam. The historic structure, which once produced hydroelectric power but has been mainly a tourist attraction in recent years, was doomed by the extreme flooding that ripped away a bank of the Blue Earth River on the dam’s west side on June 24th.
The Bloomington based firm was awarded the $1.47 million contract after outperforming the only other applicant for the job, Dallas headquartered AECOM in every category of the county’s scoring process.
The firm’s plan is to complete preliminary designs and specs by the summer of 2026. Final designs will be drawn up by the third quarter of next year and funding sources are expected to be fully identified by the end of the year. In early 2027, bids will be sought from contractors interested in demolition of the dam and reconstruction of the river.