From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Feb. 17, 1972:

According to representatives from the Corps of Engineers, a contract for construction of the Clinton dam, embankment works, and spillway could be awarded on or around May 1. The engineers, who had met this morning with Douglas County Commissioners, said that an acceptable bidder had to be within the government’s cost estimate. They also asked the commissioners to consider taking necessary legal steps to vacate several county and township roads in the construction area. In a letter to the Commission, Paul D. Barber, chief of the Corps’ engineering division, said that “several county roads within the construction area will be rendered unsafe for public use by construction activities and closure of these roads is considered necessary…. I assure you that no one will be denied access to his home or his field before alternate access is provided or land leases expire.” The Clinton project was expected to cost about $49.5 million, with the dam construction alone costing $15 to $25 million and taking up to five years to complete.