County Highway A may be open to traffic now, but work remains to be done on the road and around Lake Delton.

This morning the Department of Natural Resources will begin killing the carp in the lake bed before refilling begins later this month, and Friday morning Highway A will be closed for a couple of hours for a special ribbon cutting event with the governor.

Department of Transportation Project Supervisor Bill Oliva said the roadway will be closed from about 9 to 11 a.m. Friday, and traffic will again be detoured around the much traveled thoroughfare.

Highway A officially opened one week ago today at 10 a.m., and Oliva said he is pleased with how the project went.

"The whole project was a tremendous success," he said. "We got a very good price for the project, and we got it done in the time frame that we wanted."

During the DOT's open house in July, Oliva announced that the road would be opened by the end of the year, but it was open by the end of November.

Original estimates for the coffer dam and road project work were $4.69 million, and Oliva said he is expecting the project to be at or under budget.

Minimal work at the breach site remains to be done, but Oliva said it will be completed next spring. A final asphalt mat on Highway A as well as grass seeding and a little bit of general cleanup need to be finished.

Gov. Jim Doyle is expected to attend Friday's ribbon cutting and will likely be accompanied by the secretaries from the Departments of Transportation, Natural Resources and Tourism.

Doyle is scheduled to talk around 10 a.m., and Tourism Secretary Kelli Trumble — former Wisconsin Dells Visitor and Convention Bureau director and Sundara Spa owner — will emcee the event.

The high school band is scheduled to kick off the ceremonies around 9:30 a.m., and visitor bureau Marketing Director Melanie Platt-Gibson said the public is welcome to attend the event.

For those worried about the cool temperatures, a warming tent with coffee and hot chocolate will also be provided.

Oliva said the DOT decided to open the road before the scheduled ribbon cutting to get traffic flowing normally again.

"Our goal was to restore transportation," he said, "so as soon as we were able to open it for safe traffic, we were obligated to get it open."

There will also be a ceremony at the reconstructed Dell Creek Dam, and the Original Wisconsin Ducks have agreed to shuttle attendees over to the dam for a second ribbon cutting.

By the time of Friday's events, most of the fish in the lake bed should be dead, Department of Natural Resources South Central Region Public Affairs Manager Greg Matthews said.

The fish kill will begin Wednesday morning around 9:30 a.m.

The DNR is using a naturally occurring fish toxin called rotenone to kill the fish left in the lake bed.

MSA Project Manager Paul Werner said the Mirror Lake Dam was scheduled to close Tuesday afternoon to help with the kill. That lake has been drawn down about one and a half feet in the last few weeks.

By Wednesday morning, when the carp kill begins, there shouldn't be any water flowing down the Dell Creek Dam, Werner said, which will make the kill simpler.

After the boards are put back into the dam, Mirror Lake will begin refilling. Werner said it will probably take one or two weeks for the lake to regain its normal depth.

The Dell Creek Dam on Lake Delton will be closed Wednesday morning before the kill begins, Werner said.

Once Mirror Lake refills, the water will start flowing into Dell Creek again, and Lake Delton will begin filling.

The lake will be filled to an elevation of 827, and that depth will be maintained until next spring's thaw when the final five feet of water will be allowed in.

Werner said it will probably be 2009 before the lake's winter elevation is finally reached. How fast it refills will depend on how fast Mirror Lake refills upstream.

Matthews said they are planning four different kill sites with varying methods of application.

Sixty gallons of rotenone will be applied to the coffer dam pool by Highway A, along Dell Creek, at the Blass Lake Dam and at the Dell Creek Dam.

A drip barrel will be placed at the Blass Lake Dam to kill fish, an air boat will be used for application by Highway A and spray application will be used along Dell Creek and at the Dell Creek Dam, Matthews said.

Rotenone detoxifies over time, and is not harmful to humans, only fish, he said.

The DNR does not plan on cleaning up the dead fish, Matthews said. Between decomposition and predatory birds, the fish will be mostly gone by next spring.

The project will cost between $10,000 and $15,000, and is being paid for by the village of Lake Delton.

There isn't a time frame yet for a fishery restocking, Matthews said, but the new fish will have a fresh start without competition from the carp when they are introduced.

If you go...

What: Highway A and Dell Creek Dam ribbon cuttings

Who: Gov. Jim Doyle and others

Where: Dam and breach sites

When: Friday, 9:30 a.m.