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| Lenihan Dam project recognized with Marvin M. Black award US civil engineering firm Flatiron was honored for its work on the Lenihan Dam Outlet Modifications in Los Gatos, Calif. The project was one of six to be honored with the 2009 Associated General Contractors of America's prestigious Marvin M. Black Excellence in Partnering Special Recognition Award. The partnering efforts were recognized on March 18 at the 2010 AGC 91st Annual Convention in Orlando, Fla. Flatiron was selected for the award because of its success building partnerships with government agencies and community groups to build support for their work replacing the dam's crumbling outlet structure. Partnering with Flatiron were Santa Clara Valley Water District, tunneling subcontractor Drill Tech Drilling and Shoring Inc., designer Jacobs Associates Engineers/Consultants and construction manager Hatch Mott MacDonald. Flatiron worked to replace the deteriorating outlet structure for the 50-year-old Lenihan Dam-a 1,000-foot-long earthen barrier holding water stored at the Lexington Reservoir located at the foot of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Surrounded by pristine wilderness, the trail system around the Lexington Reservoir is one of the most scenic in Northern California. Many residents spend their weekends recreating in this public playground-on mountain bikes and foot, exploring nature next to a 400-acre lake. The 2.5-mile-long reservoir is the second-largest reservoir under the Santa Clara Valley Water District's authority, with a capacity of 19,044 acre-feet and a surface area of 412 acres. During the past few decades, the dam's old outlet structure had deteriorated and a new outlet structure was required. Construction included a new 2,000-foot, horseshoe-shaped tunnel 14-feet-wide by 13-feet-tall to house a 54-inch-diameter outlet pipe. A 37-foot vertical shaft was also constructed down the backside of the dam that intersects with the tunnel. The Lenihan Dam project included a significant amount of underground and confined space work with the tunnel excavation and the abandonment of the existing outlet pipe. It is a testament to the way this construction site was run that with more than 155,000 hours worked there were no recordable or lost-time incidents that resulted in a lost day of work. With the partnership, this project was completed safely, under budget and ahead of schedule. write your comments about the article :: © 2010 Construction News :: home page |