LOGAN — Crews plan to begin work Monday on a massive and much-anticipated canal reconstruction project in Cache Valley. The initial phase of construction involves bridges the corridor between the Logan and Northern Canal and the Logan Hyde Park Smithfield Canal in Logan.

The underground pipeline with a 42-inch diameter is the first step of a larger irrigation project that has been the source of controversy for months.

The multi-million-dollar Cache Water Restoration Project is designed to restore normal flows to the Logan and Northern Canal after it was washed out in a 2009 landslide that killed a woman and her two daughters.

Zan Murray with J-U-B Engineers of Logan says once the mile-long 42-inch pressurized pipeline below 1500 North is complete, crews will turn to rebuilding the so-called “upper canal.”

According to a press release, preparations for pipeline construction will be made during the week as crews begin utility relocations on 1500 North between 1350 East and 1600 East. Clearing and tree removal will take place in the 1500 North corridor between 1200 East and 1350 East.

Crews plan to work Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Pipeline installations and roadway restoration along 1500 North is expected to continue through late fall.

Some residents remain upset about plans to enclose that stretch of the Logan, Hyde Park, Smithfield Canal. They prefer the walking paths along open waters.