Bluestone PDT achieves another major milestone with the issuance of the Notice to Proceed for the Phase 5 Contract.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bluestone Dam Project Delivery Team issued a Notice to Proceed (NTP) to Brayman Construction Corporation on their $319.6 million contract on March 24, 2020.
This marks the beginning of the final phase of construction that began almost 20 years ago. In that time the Corps has achieved significant incremental risk reduction and this final phase will bring the dam in line with modern standards of performance.
This contract has a duration of 3,285 days, driving a completion date of March 22, 2029, with the Bluestone Dam risk objectives achieved in 2027. This nine-year construction effort will armor the existing bedrock stilling basin of Bluestone Dam with eight feet of concrete and build 40 super cavitating baffle blocks that are each 18 feet tall, designed to dissipate the energy of water released from the crest gates over the spillway.
The size and optimized design features of this new stilling basin creates a much safer dam and due to the uplift pressures, require over a mile of drainage piping and over 1,000 anchors to secure it. This effort is all being done while working in an active spillway which requires a highly detailed and sequenced work schedule while also utilizing a cofferdam to divide the outflow of the New River and allow construction to occur in a dry condition.