LTG Scott Spellmon, 55th Chief of Engineers, visited Huntington District’s Bluestone Dam near Hinton, W. Va. to be updated on the Phase 5 Bluestone Safety Modification Project. As part of the update he was able to see firsthand the successes the district has had with safely integrating project operations with the construction project as well as the collaborative efforts of the Dam Safety Mandatory Center of Expertise in the design and construction. The lessons learned in this process have been shared across the entire enterprise.
The Chief was able to gain valuable insights while spending time with the Project Management Team, the Lake Project Operations Staff, the District Leadership, and the Corps employees who are demonstrating daily how the Huntington District is Revolutionizing Project Delivery.
The Bluestone Dam Safety Modification Project began in 2000 to address identified risks in the dam that was constructed in the 1940s and placed into operation in 1948. The first four phases saw many efforts to reduce risk, including a new auxiliary spillway, the addition of a drift and debris tower, enhancements of the stilling basin, and most notably, nearly 900 anchors to secure the dam to the bedrock.