A $10.3 million dam rehabilitation project in Grant County, W.Va., is well past the halfway point.
The project involves New Creek Site 14. Notice to proceed was issued in January 2011, and the contract completion date is currently set for March 2013. The original contract amount was reportedly $9.6 million, but with contract modifications and variations in estimated quantities, the final contract amount is estimated to be approximately $10.3 million.
The funding for the project is 65 percent federal and 35 percent local, with local sponsors being Potomac Valley Conservation District; the city of Keyser, W.Va.; and the West Virginia State Conservation Committee.
The prime contractor is Heeter Construction Inc. of Spencer, W.Va., where Dave Heter serves as president. The most significant subcontractor is ASI Constructors Inc. from Pueblo West, Colo., the company responsible for Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) and reinforced concrete placement.
“The rehabilitation project includes many of the elements involved in the rehabilitation of an existing embankment structure,” said Carol Lagodich, public affairs specialist of the West Virginia State Office of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS). “USDA-NRCS has assisted with the design and construction of 170 dams in W.Va. However, this project is the first rehabilitation of a dam by NRCS in West Virginia.”
The contract calls for the rehabilitation of the flood control and water supply dam, which includes flattening both the upstream and downstream slopes to improve stability of the embankment, installation of an internal filter and drainage system in the downstream slope of the embankment, replacement of the upstream riser intake structure, and construction of an (RCC) stepped-chute auxiliary spillway.
“The construction challenges included working upstream of a flood control dam and construction of the RCC auxiliary spillway with limited construction area and access,” Logadich said.
The quantities of significant work items involved in the contract include 28,000 cu. yds. (21,407 cu m) of roller compacted concrete (RCC), 250 cu. yds. (191 cu m) of reinforced concrete, 150,000 cu. yds. (114,683 cu m) of excavation, 100,000 cu. yds. (76,455 cu m) of fill placement, 25,000 cu. yds. (19,114 cu m) of drain fill placement, and 2,000 linear ft. (610 m) of pipe placement.
The major equipment used during installation of RCC included on-road trucks, a GOMACO RTP 500 (accepts RCC from dump trucks and transfers to telescoping conveyor belt), a Telebelt TB 130 (truck-mounted telescoping conveyor belt), a Komatsu dozer, and a Hamm HD 14 single drum vibratory roller. In addition, traditional excavators, off-road trucks, dozers, and compactors were used during excavation and fill of soil and rock.
Brenda Ruggiero
Brenda Ruggiero has written for CEG for over 20 years. She lives near the town of Accident in far western Maryland. Her favorite assignments so far involved interviews with Survivor’s Boston Rob and hot dog eating champion Joey Chestnut. Both were involved in construction at one time.
Brenda holds a BA in Mass Communication with a writing focus from Frostburg State University and minors in Public Relations and Political Science. She works full time as a staff writer for a weekly newspaper, the Garrett County Republican. She enjoys feature writing the most, which gives her the opportunity to talk to people and share their stories.
Brenda and her middle school sweetheart, Reuben, have been married for over 34 years and have three grown children and four cats.
Read more from Brenda Ruggiero here.
Today's top stories
