Concrete Repair and Site Work near Alcova Dam

Federal dam concrete sets a high bar for anyone who repairs, abuts or builds beside it. Alcova Dam on the North Platte River was finished on May 8, 1938, stands 265 feet high and runs 763 feet long, and is a Bureau of Reclamation structure in the Kendrick Project. Around a structure like that, owners need concrete crews who understand hydraulic work: sound repair, careful demolition, new pads and conduit for the powerplant, drainage that does not undercut anything and flatwork for the public who come to the water.

We do that kind of work in the Alcova area. The scope is not large by city standards, but the conditions are unforgiving. The site is about 30 miles southwest of Casper, the access is a long drive, the elevation is 5,371 feet and weather arrives fast. We name the yardage, the haul and the weather window, and we do not start a pour we cannot finish.

Alcova had 34 residents in the 2020 census, so there is no local labor pool or supply yard. Whatever the job needs, the crew brings.

Why one scope matters out here

A remote site punishes subcontractor gaps. If the forming crew is late or the rebar delivery is short, the whole trip is wasted. We coordinate excavation, forming, reinforcement, placement and finishing, plus saw-cutting, coring and breaking, as one scope, so the trades arriving at the gate have everything needed to finish a phase.

Repair work around water structures also rewards craft. We cut back to sound concrete, clean and profile the surface, set dowels and bond coats per the specification and place repair material at the right consistency and temperature. Finishing is done with the exposure in mind: wet, cold and often in the spray. The trade partners for concrete repair and restoration and mass concrete pours cover the work at that scale.

Power, storage and the scale of the equipment

The reservoir holds 184,405 acre-feet in total, with 30,606 acre-feet usable for irrigation. The powerplant carries two 18 MW Francis turbines, 36 MW installed, producing about 92,408,000 kWh a year. Those numbers describe a facility with real equipment, real vibration and real consequences when something fails. Pads and foundations near it need to be designed by the owner's engineers, and we build them to the drawings, with documented mixes, tested concrete and inspected steel.

Conduit and duct banks serve the plant and the surrounding structures. We trench, form and encase them, keeping cover and separation to the plan, and we mark them for future locates. Where a trench crosses an old line or a buried drain, we pothole first. In this kind of setting an unmarked line is not an inconvenience, it is a shutdown. The trade team for electrical duct banks follows the same sequence of trench, form, encase, backfill and mark.

Federal owners, written procedures and the approvals chain

Work on or beside a federal structure follows the owner's procedures. Expect submittals for mix designs, rebar, formwork and repair materials, a written safety plan, a hold-point inspection schedule and limits on equipment near the structure. The paperwork is heavy, and the lead time is real. We prepare complete submittals early, ask questions before we price and carry the approved documents on site.

The standards that matter most are not the local building code, but the owner's specifications and the engineer's design. We follow them to the letter and keep records of each pour: mix ticket, slump, air, temperature and cylinder results. Owners in agriculture and dairy that depend on irrigation water often work with similar rules for canals, headgates and diversion structures, and we apply the same discipline there.

Working near water, depth and weather

Working near deep water, spillways and powerhouse equipment calls for a site-specific safety plan. We use fall protection, flotation where required, lockout and tagout for any equipment the owner controls and a planned rescue procedure. Crew members are briefed on the site, the hazards and the stop-work authority at the start of each shift.

Weather adds risk. Wind, cold and sudden storms can change the plan in an hour. We check the forecast before every pour, cover the work if rain comes and shut down if lightning gets close. For access, we keep trucks on the approved roads and wash out only in the designated area. If a job needs us to work from a boat or barge, we raise it with the owner first and plan it with qualified people. Safety here is a condition of working, not a line in the proposal.

What drives cost at a remote water site

Travel and mobilization come first. A site 30 miles out costs the crew time each way, and bad weather can add a day. Prices carry a realistic allowance for that, and we state it in the proposal instead of burying it. After that come the repair depth, the amount of formwork, the access for a pump and the testing required.

Small jobs cost more per cubic yard than large ones because the fixed costs do not shrink. Combining scopes helps, and crews staged from Casper or Mills can pick up a repair here as part of a larger trip. A repair, a new pad and a conduit run done in one trip cost less than three separate visits. When the owner has a long list, we sort it by priority and group the work by area and season. That is how we keep the budget honest and the schedule short. Our culverts and headwalls work often fits in the same trip.

Plan the trip before the weather decides it

Send us the drawings, the owner's requirements and the dates you can give us. We will return a scope, a schedule and a price that includes the drive.

Questions Owners Ask

Do you do repair work on older concrete structures?

Yes. We cut out deteriorated concrete, clean and profile the surface, set dowels and place repair material to the engineer's specification. We document each step, including cure and testing, and we plan around the structure's operating needs.

What does a remote site do to the schedule?

It lengthens it. Travel, deliveries and weather all take time, and a missing item can cost a day. We plan the trip, load spares and book ready-mix only when the forecast supports it.

Can you work for a federal owner and follow their procedures?

Yes. We prepare submittals, follow the owner's safety and quality procedures and keep a record of each pour and inspection. The first step is understanding the contract documents, and we ask questions before we price.

How do you coordinate with a powerplant that has to keep running?

We schedule around outages and operations, review the work plan with the plant staff and follow their rules for lockout, access and equipment. If a task needs a shutdown, we say so early.

Can you also handle drainage and erosion at the shoreline?

We build culverts, headwalls, swales and erosion controls and stabilize disturbed ground with seed, mats or rock as the plan requires. We install them with the right slope and bedding so they hold in spring runoff.

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