ConDig (27-Jul-17).  Granite Construction Inc has secured a $20 million contract to upgrade the Lost Creek Dam in Strawberry Valley, California.

Under the deal with South Feather Water & Power Agency (SFWPA), Watsonville, California-based Granite will increase the dam spillway openings and raise the crest outside of the spill section.

It will also reinforce the downstream face, protect the plunge pool area to prevent scouring of the foundation material and replace the dam crossing road.

The project started in the spring and is slated to be completed by the fall next year.

The company said that due to the remote area of the dam, all concrete materials will be batched on-site. Once complete, the rehabilitated dam is estimated to withstand potential floods and earthquakes for another century.

California’s Lost Creek Dam, on a tributary of the south fork of the Feather River, was completed in 1924.

The upgrade to the dam comes as SFWPA is required to meet probable maximum flood design and evolving safety requirements established by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and California Department of Water Resources, Division of Safety of Dams (DSOD).

Earlier this month, a Granite-led joint venture secured a a $855 million design-build contract for a section of the Grand Parkway highway project in Houston, Texas.