Construction is scheduled to begin in March on a $52-million structural upgrade to Bagnell Dam at Ameren Missouri’s 212-MW Osage Energy Center. The project, which is scheduled to last 18 months, will include the installation of 68 post-tensioned anchors. Crews then will add concrete between the highway piers to add weight to the dam. Additionally, crews will add a new concrete overlay and replace worn and cracked concrete on the eastern and western sections. “Adding more than 66 million pounds of new concrete, along with the new anchors, pulls the dam down toward bedrock, which is what holds back the incredible force and pressure of nearly 100 feet of water,” says Warren Witt, director of Ameren Missouri hydro operations. In the dam’s last major structural upgrade, which took place in the early 1980s, contractors installed 277 post-tensioned anchors, and they have functioned well, Witt says.