CullmanTimes.com - Cullman, Alabama

Top News

Discussion

October 28, 2011

New construction method leads to shorter timeline for Duck River Dam project

By Trent Moore The Cullman Times

CULLMAN — When work does eventually begin on the Duck River Dam, the construction schedule should move nearly twice as fast as originally thought.

Since engineers recommended the proposed Cullman reservoir project use a roller compacted concrete (RCC) method for construction last month, officials now believe the process should shorten the build time from a little more than a year  down to about seven months.

Steve Newton, with engineer of record CH2M Hill, said the construction plan is more streamlined for a roller-compacted concrete dam, which should allow it to roll out faster once work begins in the coming months.

“Once you start, you’re basically going 24/7,” he said. “Duck River should go up in about seven month, and that’s for the dam structure. It should cut down on the construction time frame.”

Cullman Utilities Board officials are still in the land acquisition phase of the project, but report the process is moving smoothly. Dozens of offers are out and in-negotiation, and the pace has quickened as the construction phase grows near. In terms of property owners, the city has to purchase a total of 86 tracts of land.

“We’ve closed on 26 properties, and 279 acres have been purchased, which is about one-third of what’s needed,” land acquisition coordinator Susan Eller said. “What was one or two offers coming back at a time, we’re now seeing eight, nine, or 10 offers accepted at a time.”

To date, the utilities board has spent approximately $2.9 million on property.

The board has not had to condemn any property in the acquisition process, up to this point. Paperwork was filed to potentially condemn one property, though negotiations eventually resulted in a sale.

“That’s something we’re really proud about,” Eller said. “The fact that we have had no condemnations up to this point is just great.”

Interest among area contractors wanting to be involved in the project has spiked since the RCC decision was made. Project managers are keeping a file on every interested business, which will be included in the spec document when the project goes out to bid. Anyone interested can contact Eller via e-mail at susane@cullmaneda.org.

“We were getting 1-2 contacts per day, but we’ve recently gotten 5-6 in a day at a time,” Eller said.

The approximately $68 million Duck River reservoir project, which will create a 640-acre lake with a 32-million-gallon-per-day capacity in northeast Cullman County, will work in tandem with the area’s current water source Lake Catoma.



* Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at trentm@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 220.

Text Only
Top News