Manhattan ? After nearly eight years of work, a project to strengthen the Tuttle Creek Dam near Manhattan is nearly finished.

Brian McNulty, project manager with the U.S. Corps of Engineers, says all that’s left to be done on the $169 million project is to restore some areas around the dam.

The project used federal funds to strengthen the dam after an analysis found it might be destabilized during an earthquake.

Workers replaced sand under the dam’s slopes and installed anchors to solidify it.

McNulty also told the Riley County Board of County Commissioners Monday that another $35 million in federal stimulus money will allow the corps to add make more structural changes, such as adding or extending rock areas around the dam.