Utility lines were moved, highways US 285 and NM 137 were rerouted, and a $15,000,000 realignment of the Santa Fe Railway was constructed.

Concrete work was completed by autumn 1987, and soon after, the Pecos River was diverted through the new Brantley floodgates for the first time.

That winter, another channel was dredged through the McMillan silt to ease the water flow into Brantley.

[1] Brantley Dam has a concrete gravity center section flanked by rolled earth-fill wings to the east and west, with a total length of about 4 miles (6.4 km).

[2] A part of the dam and surrounding land form the Brantley Lake State Park.