MILWAUKIE, Ore. — The obsolete Kellogg Dam in Clackamas County will soon be removed, thanks to a $10 million grant from Metro. The removal of the 176-year-old dam is part of a broader Kellogg Creek restoration project, which also includes removing an old bridge that carries Highway 99 over the top of the dam.
“What we’re going to do is remove this dam, replace the earthquake-vulnerable bridge that’s resting on top of it, and allow salmon and steelhead to get into Kellogg Creek,” said Neil Schulman, director of the North Clackamas Watersheds Council.
The dam sits just above the point where Kellogg Creek empties into the Willamette River, creating a section where the creek swells into what looks like a small lake at the south end of downtown Milwaukie. The removal will allow the area eventually become more of a recreational spot, with a network of trails that will connect to some of the other regional trails in the area.
It took years of collaboration between the city, the Oregon Department of Transportation and the environmental organization American Rivers to get the project going. The $10 million grant, which the Metro council voted to award in December, was the last piece of the puzzle…