Contractors have started chipping away on the Glines Canyon Dam in Port Angeles, Wash., one of two dams on the Elwha River that are scheduled for removal as part of the largest project of its kind in the U.S. The 210-ft-high Glines Canyon dam and the 108-ft-high Elwha Dam are the two highest dams ever to be removed in the U.S. The project includes the removal of 24 million cu yd of sediment and debris and will restore 70 sq miles of natural habitat. Work on the project began on Sept. 15.
Prior to this, the largest dam removal in the U.S. was on the Sandy River, Ore., in 2007. There, the Marmot Dam was only 47 feet high, with one million cu yd of sediment. The general contractor, Barnard Construction Inc. of Bozeman, Mont., builds dams from the ground up across the country. “This time we are taking the dam down,” says Brian Krohmer, project manager. ”That brings a number of unknowns.”