Status of Construction

Status of Construction. . , The Bluestone Dam is undergoing rehabilitation by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to make it stronger and more durable. Originally built by the Dravo Corporation in the 1940s and beginning service in 1949, the Bluestone Dam operates every day passing water that flows from North Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico., In the 1990s, our understanding of dams changed and after much study, plans were developed to lower the amount of risk by increasing the amount of water the dam can safely pass and hold back during a flood event. This new period of rehabilitation construction began in 2001 and consists of five phases. One of the early phases involved the construction of the auxiliary spillway which allows more water to flow through the dam. Another phase involved drilling and installing anchoring cables deep into the bedrock to prevent the dam from sliding and allowing it to hold more water back during flood events., The final phase of construction is now underway. It started in 2018 and is expected to be completed in 2029. This phase has already upgraded the crest gates, which were originally designed to be manually operated. The crest gates can now be remotely operated from a safer location to protect the dam tenders and better control the flow of water over the primary spillway. It also split the stilling basing with a --- cofferdam; this allows the continued operation of Bluestone Dam during construction., The main focus of construction is now the stilling basin. Construction removes the fractured bedrock from the stilling basin and replaces it with concrete. Under this layer of concrete will be a series of drains that will reduce the amount of artesian water pressure pushing up on the new concrete. Through this concrete will be a series of anchoring cables that will aid in holding it in place and also countering these same upward water pressures. On top of this new concrete will be 40 large baffles (concrete wedges 16 feet tall) that will act to dissipate water flowing from the crest gates and reduce that water energy, aiding in the durability of the stilling basin in extreme flooding situations. This current phase of construction also continues the drilling and installing of anchor cabling throughout the dam to prevent sliding., Lastly, this phase will leave the Bluestone Dam area with improved recreational areas on both sides of the New River. Along the left side (nearest you), the handicap accessible fishing pier is removed and replaced with a natural area promoting shoreline fishing. Also along the left bank, below this spot will be built a new interpretive center focusing on the history of the dam, how the dam operates and the environment that Bluestone Dam supports. Along the right side (furthest away), a handicap accessible fishing area will be installed between the auxiliary spillway and the right side of the stilling basin to replace the one that will be removed. Downstream from that, a large green space will be created, a new children’s playground will be built, water access points for launching kayaks and canoes and wade in fishing will be built and and new Little League baseball field will be built alongside the existing one.