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Army Corps upgrading Garrison Dam spillway after historic 2011 flooding
Garrison Dam on the Missouri River forms Lake Sakakawea in North Dakota. (Amy Echols/U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working on shoring up Garrison Dam's spillway, which is used to release water from Lake Sakakawea when water levels are high.
Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., announced in a news release Friday that the Corps was spending $24 million for dredging and the placement of riprap protection of the spillway at Garrison Dam near Riverdale.
This work is part of the larger Garrison Dam Spillway Approach Rehabilitation Project and is expected to be completed in April 2028.
The Army Corps completed a study of Garrison Dam in June 2023. The dam holds back the Missouri River, creating Lake Sakakawea, the largest reservoir of any Army Corps project in the nation.
Flooding in 2011 caused Garrison Dam's spillway to be used for the first time since it was completed in 1953.
After dam operators closed the spillway gates and operations returned to normal, the dam's maintenance team assessed the impacts of the historic flooding and the spillway's ability to handle even larger floods.
The overall project includes the replacement of the spillway's drainage system to remove manhole covers from inside the spillway. Some covers were dislodged in 2011.
Other work at the dam this year includes replacing lighting along Crest Road and concrete repair on the Spillway Bridge that may slow travel, the Army Corps said in a news release.
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