The budget for the construction of two dams in the Ohio River, in order to replace the old ones, increased from $775 million in 1988 to $3.1 billion in present. The main reason for this huge raise is the in-the-wet construction method that was chosen to be applied.
According to this method, concrete segments are built in a nearby construction site and then these prefabricated shells are floated on the river through cranes to connect to pre-installed foundations. The delays and the enormous cost were attributed to many factors. The late funding from the Congress, the untested method in such a big project before the construction and the neutral attitude from the Inland Waterways Users Board were some of them.
Of course the challenges during this construction were also responsible for the outcome. Some of these challenges are: the fluctuation of the river’s depth, the low visibility, the expensive equipment, such as the use of a curtain of chain to protect the divers from the fast flow of the river, a catamaran to float the segments, a machine for dredging, and a cradle system to move the segments to the water. Moreover, the sleds that were used for the relocation of the segments couldn’t provide a uniform support increasing the risk of damage and an excavation was also necessary in the adjacent assembly site due to a previous landslide.
The option of changing the construction method using the cofferdam in-the-dry method raised controversial arguments.
Source: stl today.com
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