Wahoo dam ahead of schedule

WAHOO, Neb. — Cooler, wetter weather has set in, but construction on the Lake Wanahoo project is still forging ahead north of Wahoo.

“The bottom line is that we’re still ahead of schedule,” project coordinator Mike Murren said.

On the north side of the earthen embankment, where the waters of Sand Creek will form a 637-acre lake, white rip rock was being laid last week.

On the south side of the dam, crews continued to put roller-compacted concrete in place. Not only will the concrete form a spillway for water channeled through the dam, it will also form “steps” on the side of the dam.

Unlike concrete that is poured into a form to harden into shape, this concrete is poured into place and then compressed to a certain density with a roller compactor.

The concrete at the spillway is 6 feet deep, and it takes a lot of concrete to build the steps on the side of the dam. Murren said those steps are important.

“Should we ever get that big event that goes over the dam, this protects the embankment from washing away,” he said.

But the amount of concrete needed will not be as much as originally planned. The dam’s bid specifications called for 17,600 cubic yards.

Murren said project engineers have looked at the project again and found that not all of that concrete will be needed. This will mean a savings of about $138,171 in the dam’s construction.

This is only the fourth change order for this $12.5 million phase of the Wanahoo project. The previous change orders were for additional items or work and added about $78,000 to the price tag.