OCR Text |
Show pleted and transferred to operation and maintenance status on July 1, 1964. Started in 1957, the dam was finished on November 15, 1962. On September 27, 1963, President John F. Kennedy signaled the start of test runs for generator No. 1. On November 11, 1963, all tests were completed. The first Colorado River Storage Project hydroelectric power went on the line from generator No. 1. Generator No. 3, the third and last of the Flaming Gorge generating units, was placed in operation in February 1964. Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson dedicated the completed Flaming Gorge Dam on August 17, 1964. Flaming Gorge Dam is located on the Green River in northeastern Utah, about 40 road miles north of Vernal, Utah, and 32 river miles downstream from the Utah-Wyoming state line. The dam is a concrete thin-arch structure rising 502 feet above bedrock. The reservoir has a capacity of 3,789,000 acre-feet and, when full, will extend upstream 91 miles, nearly to the town of Green River, Wyoming. The powerplant has an installed generating capacity of 108,000 kilowatts. The Flaming Gorge Storage unit has two principal functions - development of water resources in the Upper Basin by providing long-term storage regulation of the flow of the Green River and generation of electrical energy. Revenues from the sale of power will be used to help pay construction costs of the dam and reservoir and assist in repayment of irrigation costs of participating projects. Recreation Facilities During the past recreation season visitation at Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area soared to new records. By Labor Day weekend the number of visitors to the area had exceeded the total for all of 1965. Labor Day visitation brought the year's total to 815,000 as compared to about 800,000 for the entire previous year; and by the end of September, 878,000 persons had visited the area, with a total of 1,000,000 expected by the end of 1966. The three-day Memorial Day weekend - the busiest of the year - found 65,000 recreationists enjoying the scenery and facilities offered on the scenic lake. The two Visitor Centers located in the area - the Forest Service's Red Canyon Visitor Center and the Center at the dam operated jointly by the Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, and Forest Service-have drawn large numbers of enthusiastic crowds. One of the largest single attractions in the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area has been the self-guided tour provided by the Bureau of Reclamation through Flaming Gorge Dam and powerplant. The tours were started in May 1966, and it is estimated that about 60,000 persons will have toured the dam and powerplant by the end of the year. 84 |