First contract awarded for Folsom Dam project
Published 12:00 am PDT Thursday, October 4, 2007
Federal officials this week awarded the first contract in a long-awaited plan to boost Folsom Dam's flood-fighting ability.
The $16 million contract went to Kiewit Pacific Co. of Concord, the Bureau of Reclamation announced. It involves excavating a massive new spillway at the dam, modifying earthen embankments alongside the dam and building a haul road.
Kiewit Pacific is building the $117 million four-lane bridge across the American River below the dam. Because it already has equipment in place, the company's bid was below the cost anticipated by the bureau, spokesman Jeff McCracken said.
The contract marks major progress since spring 2005, when a more complicated plan was derailed by construction bids that were double the estimated cost.
Since then, the bureau and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers collaborated on a simpler design, which features a new spillway adjacent to the existing dam to empty the reservoir faster. This, in turn, creates more space for floodwater, providing a buffer for Sacramento.
"We're starting to complete the project now," McCracken said. "We're not talking about it. We're doing it."
Total project cost is estimated at $1.3 billion. Construction should begin by the end of November, McCracken said.
-- Matt Weiser
