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Show was awarded on June 26, 1958. The contractor's key personnel began arriving on the job in July and initial construction activities were initiated before the end of the month. Excavation of the spillway inlet channel and drilling and blasting operations in the spillway section are advancing rapidly. Haul roads to various parts of the project are nearly complete. A sprinkler irrigation system has been erected and placed in operation at the dam foundation area preparatory to stripping and excavation of the foundation. It has been found that suitable material from these operations can be used in the coffer dam. Various buildings such as contractor's office, mess halls, barracks, paint shop, warehouse and repair shop are nearly completed. Total amount of contracts awarded by the Bureau of Reclamation on this project now total in excess of $23,000,000. 4. Curecanti Storage Unit The Curecanti Storage Unit will be located on the Gunnison River in Western Colorado, upstream from the Black Canyon National Monument and downstream from the town of Gunnison. In order to prevent damage to property near the town, the authorizing legislation provides that the upstream dam at Blue Mesa shall be constructed to a height to store not less than 940,000 acre-feet of water, or to create a reservoir of such greater capacity as can be obtained by a high water line located at 7,520 feet above sea level. Construction cannot be commenced until the Secretary of the Interior has certified to the Congress and the President that the Curecanti Storage Unit is economically justifiable. Investigation Activities The Bureau of Reclamation, after investigating many possible combinations of potential dams in the reach of the river to be developed, has decided upon a plan involving the construction of three dams at locations known as Blue Mesa, Morrow Point and Crystal. A feasibility report on this project is scheduled for completion by February 1959. This report will include data and recommendations only upon the dams to be constructed at Blue Mesa, and Morrow Point to be followed in about a year by a supplemental report on Crystal Dam. It is believed that this procedure is within the authorization language of Public Law 485. Additional topographic information has been obtained at the Blue Mesa damsite to accommodate a change in the location of the axis of the dam. Foundation drilling of both the Blue Mesa and Morrow Point sites has been completed. Laboratory testing of embankment materials and concrete aggregate sources has been finished. 34 |