Public access across Hauser Dam will be restricted from May 8 through July 28 due to a spillway construction project designed to improve the ability to control water releases at the dam.

The walkway will be partially blocked during the day, but plant personnel will accommodate access around the construction activities. An alternative access would be to use Beaver Creek. Signs will be posted at the dam.

In addition, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks will temporarily restrict access to Black Sandy State Park on May 8 and 9 to accommodate the construction project. A representative of the department will be present on those days to direct traffic.
Current practices eliminate the need to draw down Hauser Lake during the construction on the spillway.

“The limited access will protect the safety of fishermen and hikers during work hours, but will also allow them to cross the dam when construction activity allows,” said David Hoffman, manager of external affairs for PPL Montana.

Hoffman noted that, in addition to the improvements PPL Montana is making at Hauser Dam and its other facilities, the company has committed $23 million through 2009 for recreational and environmental projects along a 524-mile portion of the Madison-Missouri River corridor.

The 17-megawatt Hauser Dam hydroelectric generating station is 14 miles northeast of Helena on the Missouri River.

PPL Montana, a subsidiary of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL), has electric generating facilities throughout the state with a combined generating capacity of about 1,200 megawatts. PPL Montana has offices in Billings, Butte and Helena and employs 500 people. The company operates coal-fired power plants at Colstrip and Billings, as well as 11 hydroelectric power plants along Rosebud Creek and the Missouri, Madison, Clark Fork and Flathead rivers. PPL EnergyPlus, another PPL subsidiary, operates a trading floor in Butte that markets and sells power in the wholesale energy market. More information about the company is available at www.pplmontana.com.