| OCR Text |
Show will have a total capacity of 117,000 acre-feet, but an active capacity for power production of over 42,000 acre-feet. The power-plant capacity at Morrow Point will be 120,000 kilowatts since the downstream Crystal Reservoir can reregulate flows released at Morrow Point. In addition, Crystal Dam will have a capacity of 20,000 kilowatts. Construction Activities Blue Mesa Dam, an earth- and rockfill dam, will contain 3 million cubic yards of embankment material. It will rise approximately 340 feet above the streambed, with a crest length of 800 feet. By September 30, 1963 work on the Blue Mesa Dam and Powerplant was about 45 percent completed. Prior to October 8, 1963, when the Gunnison River was diverted to flow through the 1,882-foot-long diversion tunnel, the bulk of the work involved underground excavation and concrete lining of the spillway-diversion tunnel and outlet works tunnel. With diversion of the river, the contractor started foundation excavation for the dam embankment and placement of embankment in the dam. On May 14, 1963, a $15,436,000 contract was awarded for construction of Morrow Point Dam and Powerplant, 12 miles downstream from the Blue Mesa Dam. The 465-foot-high Morrow Point Dam will embody several features unique to Bureau of Reclamation dams. It will be the first thin-arch, double curvature concrete dam built by the Bureau of Reclamation and will have a free-fall spillway over the center of the dam. Also, the first Bureau-built underground powerplant will be at Morrow Point. Work to date involves construction of the extremely difficult access roads to the damsite area. The third feature of the Curecanti Unit - Crystal Dam and Powerplant - was determined to be feasible and has been approved by the Secretary of the Interior. Preconstruction surveys were underway during 1963. Of the three segments of U. S. Highway 50 being relocated around Blue Mesa Reservoir, two segments have been completed and are open to traffic, and the contractor is making good progress on the third segment. There is one additional section of the highway to be completed to link these three sections. The Colorado Highway Department will have responsibility for construction of that section. 49 |
