Dredging starts at Miry Run’s Dam Site 21

The first phase of development of a new passive-recreation Mercer County park is underway.

Dredging of the 50-acre lake at what is known as Miry Run’s Dam Site 21 began yesterday.

Located in Hamilton, Robbinsville and West Windsor, the 279-acre property was acquired by Mercer County in the late 1970s in order to build a dam to reduce downstream flooding and to develop the land into a publicly accessible park.

The dredging will rid the lake bed of weeds, debris and sediment that has built up over the years, and improve access for boating and fishing, according to Mercer County officials.

The lake improvements are part of a larger Park Master Plan for the site, which was adopted by the Mercer County Park Commission in 2020.

After four years of planning, design, and permitting, the Park Commission recently awarded a contract to Capela Construction, which will begin lowering the lake and complete the dredging over the winter.

During the course of this cleanup, there will be no public access to the lake area until the project is complete.