SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Crews are set to begin emergency maintenance work Monday on the Lower Shaker Lake dam despite a legal challenge threatening to halt the project, according to the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.

Contractor Nerone and Sons plans to install about 100 tons of stone along 226 feet of the upstream embankment on both sides of the dam’s principal spillway, with work expected to last three to five days.

“This current scheduled work is crucial to help prevent erosion of the earthen dam and thereby reduce the risk of an uncontrolled breach,” NEORSD spokeswoman Jennifer Elting said in a statement. “A breach of this nature would threaten downstream assets in University Circle and potentially cause loss of life.”

But Cleveland Heights attorney Erin R. Flanagan has dema

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