Paddy Creek Dam

Brayman was contracted to provide specialty construction services in support of a safety improvement project located at Paddy Creek Dam on Lake James near Nebo, NC.  In order to comply with new guidelines from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and provide increased seismic stability, scope involved construction of large earthen and concrete structures along the downstream slopes of the dams. These structures add strength to the dam in the unlikely event of a large earthquake.

Work included construction of an earthen buttress measuring 140-feet high x 250-feet wide at the base x 1450-LF along the downstream slope of the dam; and construction of a 30-foot x 1300-foot toe trench at the base of the buttress, including a 3000-foot de-watering system with 220 eductor wells and 15 deep wells.

Preparatory work required clearing and grubbing 120 acres of adjacent property to obtain suitable borrow material; erosion and sedimentation measures; and construction of over 12,000-LF of new access roads for off-road transport of the required materials.  After placement of new embankment exceeding 1.3 million cubic yards, the following work items were also completed: borrow pit closure, access road and sedimentation pond restorations, and re-forestation of all impacted areas of the site.