Lake Lure, North Carolina, is moving to replace a century-old dam after releasing its initial preliminary designs for the project. While the estimated $158 million to $174 million initiative is needed to mitigate the dam’s risk of failure, the town has been mired in delays, relocations, disputes and other pressing questions preventing officials from breaking ground.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) has designated the Lake Lure dam as a high-hazard structure. While that doesn’t mean the damn is in poor condition, currently failing or at imminent risk of failure, it does speak to the degree of consequence should the worst occur. Dam failure would likely result in loss of life and significant downstream property damage.
After 100 years of continual operations, Lake Lure is due for a modern dam facility. However, although the project has made it through the alternatives analysis and conceptual design phases, town officials have hit some speed bumps along the way.
Notably, certain project elements complicate other associated project schedules. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has been planning to replace the Lake Lure dam bridge, resulting in scheduling and construction conflicts.
Officials have raised concerns that replacing the dam would lean heavily on reliable access and periodic control over the current one-lane bridge. With the bridge replacement initiative in motion, however, further development hinges on seeing that project completed before earnest work could begin on the dam.
The misaligned construction timelines have been thrown into disarray following NCDOT’s decision to delay the bridge project. With so much of the town’s travel needs dependent on the bridge to facilitate dam replacement, officials are pushing for increased coordination and communication with NCDOT to avoid further delays.
While definitive construction dates for the dam replacement project have not yet been released, development is anticipated to take around four years to complete. The Lake Lure Town Council plans to issue a Notice to Proceed for 60 percent design documents in October, which will primarily address the property acquisition approach, provisions for future hydro/FERC as main design criteria and other subsurface information.
Photo by Alexander Korte from Pexels
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