State money may soon be on the way to help tear out the Rapidan Dam after it partially failed following severe flooding last summer.

Blue Earth County officials have been working to secure funding for the massive project after the board voted to remove the damaged dam in the fall.

On Thursday, Governor Tim Walz arrived at the site of the dam to announce a proposal of up to $10 million set aside for the removal project as part of a bonding bill.

“The bonding bill is historically one of the most bipartisan we do in the legislature,” Walz told reporters just feet away from a very active construction site.

Right now, crews are racing against the clock to remove as much of the bridge as possible before spring flooding begins. The county board voted to replace the damaged bridge. Officials are relying on federal money for that project.

However, the total cost to remove the dam is unclear. Ryan Thilges, director of Public Works at Blue Earth County, said there’s still work to do to determine the price tag.

“We are working through the process to figure out the cost of the removal of the actual dam,” Thilges said.

Late last summer, former dam workers told 5 INVESTIGATES that the costly disaster could have been mitigated if the county took more proactive steps to prevent the failure.

“It was all completely avoidable. They did no debris mitigation,” said Ron Jordan, former operator of the Rapidan Dam.

The county disputes those claims but it still has a costly problem on its hands.

Previous estimates to remove the dam before the failure put the cost at more than $60 million dollars.

Walz said money from FEMA should also help cover the bill.

“I’m sure our federal partners will make sure to get this thing going as fast as possible,” he told workers while touring the site.

The county hopes that the new bridge will be back open to traffic by 2027. There’s no clear timeline for when the dam removal project will begin.

RELATED: Blue Earth County Sheriff: Rapidan Dam in “imminent failure condition” I House located near Rapidan Dam falls into water as officials continue monitoring water levels I Rapidan Dam Store building taken down, removed from riverbank due to flooding I Rapidan Dam’s concerning history revealed as officials keep an eye on structural integrity I Debris clogged Rapidan Dam before the failure. Former workers say it could have been avoided. I Blue Earth County officials vote to remove Rapidan Dam, replace County Road 9 bridge