NASHVILLE, Tenn. (May 6, 2024) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District announces roadway impacts are expected crossing Wolf Creek Dam on Highway 127 when the Wolf Creek Dam Spillway Gates Replacement Project gets underway in mid-June.
“The contractor, American Bridge Company, will begin mobilization activities at Wolf Creek Dam June 17, 2024. Initial activities will include the installation of fencing, Connex storage containers, and office trailers in the designated laydown area in the overflow parking area near Halcomb’s Landing,” said Project Manager Greg Bishop.
Bishop said the mobilization is in preparation of installing ladders on the downstream side of the dam for access to the gates’ trunnion bases. Installation is scheduled July 8 to Sept. 20, 2024. During this time the Corps of Engineers will reduce traffic to one lane. Alternating traffic lights will be positioned on both sides of the dam for directing vehicles across the dam in both directions, he explained.
Following the ladders installation, American Bridge Company will begin activities in the fall supporting the removal of the first gate, which includes the assembly of floating barge sections for use on the lake when accessing each spillway gate.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District awarded a $109,450,000 contract in September 2022 to American Bridge Company for the Wolf Creek Dam Spillway Gates Replacement Project. The project is fully funded by the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022.
The scope of this contract includes fabrication of 10 new spillway tainter gates; removal of existing gates and lifting machinery equipment required to operate the gates; and installation of the new gates and lifting machinery equipment.
The public can obtain project and traffic updates on the Lake Cumberland Facebook page at www.facebook.com/lakecumberland. The contractor will post signs along Highway 127 on both sides of the dam and the Nashville District will send news releases with traffic information to the media.
“Public safety is our priority on this project, so we want to communicate what we are doing with local communities and commuters,” Bishop said. “It’s our objective to minimize impacts while ensuring construction workers are protected and drivers are able to cross the dam safely.”
Wolf Creek Dam is located on the Cumberland River in Jamestown, Kentucky. The dam forms Lake Cumberland, which is located in Wayne, Russell, Pulaski, Clinton, McCreary, Laurel, and Whitley counties in Southeastern Kentucky. The reservoir is 101 miles long in length and has 1,255 miles of shoreline.
The Nashville District completed the dam for flood control operation in 1950. Three of the six hydroelectric generating units were placed in operation in 1951 and the remaining three in 1952. Operation of the lake is for the primary purposes of flood control and the production of hydroelectric power.
