Portage Canal

Photograph provided by Entact LLC A portion of the $7.8 million canal restoration project involved manually removing 30,000 cubic yards of sediment for contaminate remediation.

Phase 2 of Portage Canal restoration should be completed this spring. The remediation of contaminated sediment in this segment phase was completed last fall. The restoration work will bring back the canal’s use as a transportation water trail. A shared-use path alongside the canal, complete with lighting and interpretive signs, is in the works along with pedestrian bridges.

The first phase of Portage Canal restoration, completed back in 2007, involved remediation of contaminated sediment and refurbishing the locks near the Wisconsin River side of the canal. Since that time, the addition of the Columbia County Administration Buildings and a reconstruction of the Wisconsin/DeWitt Street intersection have revitalized that canal segment.

Photograph provided by Anchor QEC Grass starts to peek through along the newly completed segment of the canal, looking west toward Adams Street and the Columbia County Administration Buildings.