Construction Continues On Zink Dam, Kayaking Features

Construction is happening along the Arkansas River as crews work on the Zink Dam and kayaking features that will be near the Gathering Place.

Some of the biggest changes will be on the east side of the river, but those are going to be coming later. For now, crews are working on the west side of the river. 

“It’ll be great. It’ll be very exciting. It’s kind of hard to imagine what it could look like with the kayaking and water features so I will be thrilled with whatever we get," said Tulsan Katie Sawicki. She said she's looking forward to the new pedestrian bridge over the river and especially the kayaking feature on the east side. 

“We’ll probably going to go buy a kayak before long so he can get in there and play," said Brooke Caviness. Caviness is Tulsa's Lead Engineer for the Stormwater Design. She's also a mom and can't wait to get on the Arkansas River with her family. 

“The lake itself will be available for use for kayakers. We’re adding a recreational flume on the east bank of the river. 1,000 feet long. It’ll have seven drops and pools for kayaking, surfing, you can even tube down the flume," said Caviness. 

The other changes are happening beneath the water's surface. Caviness said the new gates are replacing the current Zink Dam from 1982. 

“Currently there’s a 150 foot of gates to allow water through, the total length when we’re finished will be 910 feet of gates. That will allow us to lower those gates all the way to allow sediment to come through," said Caviness. 

Another big change is replacing the old pedestrian bridge. 

“There’s broken wood, there’s holes in the floor, there’s handrails coming off. It’s a maintenance issue," said Caviness.

She said it would have cost too much to repair the old bridge and to add a second level for bikes. People on the trails are just excited to use it when everything is finished. 

"I just love the fact that we’re by a river and we have such an important river running through Tulsa and let’s do more with it," said Sawicki.