COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)- In a press conference Thursday, Governor John Kasich said that a new proposal to build a new dam in front of the old Buckeye Lake dam could cost less and take less time to build.

Kasich said that the new dam would be centered on a “soil mixing” design, and it would be built in front of the existing dam.

The new design could cost less than the $150 million initially estimated to build a new dam and it could take less than the five years that was also first estimated.

The governor heaped plenty of caution on today’s announcement saying that construction projects rarely go as planned.

“We’re optimistic, I’m optimistic that maybe we can get done a little sooner,” he said. “You’re going to say, ‘Well, how much sooner?’ I’m not prepared to say and we’re not going to say other than it may be shorter than the five years we originally thought.”

It is not soon enough for longtime resident Patty McLoughlin. 

“We need to know when,” she said. “We can’t withstand this for four more years, we just can’t. There is no hope at Buckeye Lake.”

Steve Berezansky, an ODNR engineer sounded optimistic about the project. 

“It’s a long lasting product, it’s not really exposed to the elements,” he said. “So, you get an effective seepage barrier. It’s cost effective because you’re using existing materials and we can save some time on the project. It’s a great thing.”

Residents all along the lake have built docks on the front of the dam over the years. State officials declined to say today what will happen to those.

Tim Ryan of the Buckeye Lake Yacht Club said neighbors don’t know what will happen with those docks.

“We don’t know whether we’re going to be allowed to have docks. We don’t know when they’re going to be pulled out. That’s a timeline that was supposed to be communicated to us back in May and it’s still not been communicated to us.”