AEP Racine Functional Dam Replacement

AEP Racine Functional Dam Replacement, Racine Locks and Dam, Ohio River

LOCATION

Racine Locks and Dam, Ohio River

Project Highlights

63,396 sf sheet pile installed
41 Drilled shafts: including 2,510 cy shaft concrete, 521,393 lbs. of casing, 473,850 lbs. of core beams
4,000 tons in underwater berm
4,541 cy of secant piles
9,087 cy of grouting
11,836 cy of mass concrete
5,170 cy of CLSM backfill
470 cy of 8” top slab
1,117,800 lbs. of reinforcing steel
Over 350,000 man-hours worked - no lost time accidents

Project Description

The AEP Racine Hydroelectric Functional Dam Replacement project occurred through a series of planned design and construction phases. After an initial issue was discovered in one of the existing steel cells between the dam and the hydroelectric plant, AEP initiated some immediate repairs to stabilize the existing structure. At the direction of AEP, Beaver placed large qty’s of rock to buttress the downside of the cell. Additional repairs completed by Beaver included strap welding on the sheet piles and grouting on the downstream face of the dam.

The next phase of the project included a series of systematic Interim Risk Reduction Measures (IRRM’s) that would increasingly limit the risk of any further failures until the permanent new Functional Replacement Dam (FRD) could be constructed. Beaver worked with AEP and other project stakeholders to complete the IRRM’s while the design and construction plan was developed for the FRD.

The final design called for the FRD to be located upstream and directly in front of the existing dam and Beaver Excavating was chosen to perform this final construction phase of the project. Beaver self-performed the major work elements to construct the FRD that included heavily reinforced drilled concrete shafts socketed into bedrock, installation of a sheet pile wall along the entire perimeter and interior locations, river bottom dredging, under water mud mat and structural concrete placement. Final elements included a new parapet wall along the full length of the FRD and a final structural slab topping out the FRD to the level of the existing dam.

While Safety is always Beaver’s #1 priority, the Racine project demanded extra care due to the inherent dangers of the river environment, the extensive barge operations, and the large amount of work performed under water. Beaver’s attention to Safety throughout the project paid off with over 350,000 man-hours without any lost time accidents.

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