Dam project pushed back

Local News

October 22, 2009

By BILL MARDIS, Editor Emeritus The Commonwealth Journal Thu Oct 22, 2009, 09:10 PM EDT

Somerset — Problems with directional drilling of pilot holes have delayed work at Wolf Creek Dam and pushed back the projected completion of the dam rehabilitation project to December 2012, about two months later than the contract deadline.

David Hendrix, project manager for the $584 million repair project, said the delay also will mean evaluation of the level of Lake Cumberland won’t be done at least until December 2010, about two months later than projected. Engineers said earlier when the permanent wall has been installed in two critical areas of the dam by next October the current lake level could be evaluated.

Tourism interests around Lake Cumberland have been clinging to the October 2010 evaluation of the dam repair progress that might allow the level of Lake Cumberland to be raised, hopefully 10 feet, for the 2011 vacation season.

Despite the projected delay, Hendrix didn’t rule out the possibility of a higher lake level during summer 2011. “Even if we could make the evaluation as late as March (2011) spring rains could allow a change in the lake level,” he said.

Problems with drilling pilot holes, 8 inches in diameter, have caused the delay, Hendrix explained. The pilot holes are guides for 50-inch circular shafts that will be backfilled with concrete to form the permanent barrier wall. Three of the large holes have been completed in Technique Area 1, one of two test areas to determine integrity of the work, Hendrix noted.

The project manager emphasized that problems with drill alignments have been corrected and work is proceeding. He said the general contractor is still bound by the October 2012 completion date, but indicated no decision has been made for possible financial penalties because of the projected delay.

A protective embankment wall made of concrete panels, 6 feet wide and 10 feet long, is being inserted in the earthen section of the dam to stabilize the embankment while the permanent barrier wall is installed.

Hendrix said 118 of the 427 panels necessary for the protective concrete embankment wall have been inserted. However, a quality control procedure has determined four of these panels do not meet specifications and another 20 panels are being evaluated.

When completed, three concrete walls will strengthen and protect Wolf Creek Dam. The diaphragm installed during the 1970s will remain; the stabilizing concrete embankment wall that reaches the base of the earthen embankment will stay; as well as the permanent barrier wall that will extend the entire length of the earthen structure and deep into the bedrock.

Lake Cumberland has been held near 680 feet above sea level, about 40 feet below normal, since January 2007 to facilitate repairs at the dam. The lower water level has had an adverse economic impact on the 10-county Lake Cumberland area, including Pulaski County.

The mile-long structure has been plagued with seepage since it was impounded in 1951. Uncontrolled leaks during the late 1960s was temporarily repaired with a concrete diaphragm inserted in the earthen section of the structure. This first barrier wall proved too short and too shallow and in March 2005 the Corps decided a major rehabilitation of the dam, declared in high risk of failure, was necessary. A public announcement of the crisis was made in August 2005.

A contract was awarded to Treviicos Soletanche JV, a joint French-Italian firm, to insert a second concrete barrier wall that would extend the entire length of the earthen part of the dam and up to 100 feet in the bedrock beneath the dam. Engineers said this will be a permanent fix for the dam and ensure the future of Lake Cumberland.

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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