MIDDLESEX TWP — The cost to rebuild the dam at Glade Run Lake will be $1.5 million less than expected.

Siggy Pehel, president of the Glade Run Lake Conservancy, said Tuesday that the low bid for the job came in at a little more than $2.8 million.

Including contingency funds to cover unforeseen costs, the project should cost about $3 million, Pehel said.

The project was estimated at $4.5 million.

The lake was drained in 2011 for safety reasons because the dam was structurally insufficient. Pehel and a handful of other citizens soon after the lake was drained formed the Glade Run Lake Conservancy, and began raising awareness and money to rebuild the dam.

Once former Gov. Tom Corbett approved partial funding for the project through the state Fish and Boat Commission, the conservancy’s board pledged the money raised through memberships, donations, trust bequests and fund raisers to help pay for the construction of the new dam.

“We are all ecstatic that it came in under the amount estimated,” Pehel said. “It means our contribution, which was about $300,000, will no longer be needed.”

Pehel said the money raised by the conservancy now will be used to dredge the shallow end of the lake to create 10-foot deep channels to increase the lake’s fish population by 30 percent to 35 percent.

He said rock from the old dam will be used in the channels, and 32 catfish spawning boxes made by students who attended the State Association of Student Council regional conference in March at Mars High School will be lowered into the channels.

The conservancy funds will also be used for an addition to the existing jetty that will allow people with disabilities to drop a fishing line into 10 to 15 feet of water.

Pehel said the jetty will be extended by 30 feet and resurfaced to better accommodate wheelchairs. He said the parking lot and turnaround at the jetty also will be enlarged and the walkways will be widened to accommodate wheelchairs.

The conservancy funds also have paid for required archeological digs, core borings and other costs associated with the project in the jetty area.

“That area needs an entire face lift,” Pehel said.

A 1.5-mile walking trail is already in place at the lake property. For his Eagle Scout project, Adam Darragh last year built a 24-foot wooden bridge over a creek so the trail could be continued to a remote area of the property, Pehel said.

Even though the dam construction project is funded and ready to begin, the 3½-year-old conservancy will not dissolve.

“The conservancy has not folded its tent and gone away,” Pehel said.

Working on future projects at the lake, such as environmentally friendly bathrooms, a garden sitting area and a pavilion; finding contractors for those projects, and working with the Fish and Boat Commission to constantly improve the lake are some long-term goals of the group, Pehel said.

“We still have a lot of things to accomplish because the vision for the conservancy was not just to get the dam fixed, but to beautify the park too,” Pehel said.

Paul Urbanik, chief of engineering at the Fish and Boat Commission, said the construction contract will likely be awarded officially by next week to K.C. Construction of Bucks County.

“We were pleased with the bid results, which will result in a significant savings,” Urbanik said.

He expects construction to begin in August and continue for about 15 months, with the potential completion being in late 2016.

Urbanik said the controlled refilling of the lake will take four to six months, and the lake restored in the spring or summer 2017. He said boating can begin during the refill process when the lake can safely be accessed from a boat launch.

Fishing, Urbanik said, can begin when the lake is refilled.

“The lake fishery will be completely re-established within five years of the reservoir refill,” Urbanik said.

Regarding the existing dam, Urbanik said only a small portion of it will be removed. Most of the earthen material to be removed will be reused on site, he said.

The concrete spillway will be demolished and a new spillway built, Urbanik said.

Looking back at the conservancy’s efforts, Pehel is just glad the dam is being rebuilt and the 52-acre lake restored.

“I think it’s been the best experience of my life,” Pehel said of leading the conservancy. “I’ve used my skill set for a noble cause, which is giving back to the community something they lost and greatly missed.”