MC Industrial, Inc., a McCarthy Holdings company, recently received a “2019 Top Plant Award” in the renewable category from POWER magazine. The award recognizes MC Industrial’s work as general contractor for the Bagnell Dam Stabilization project, a $53 million investment in major structural and anchoring upgrades for the Ameren Missouri Osage Energy Center in Lake Ozark, Missouri.
Completed three months ahead of schedule and on budget in September of 2018, the stabilization project was the first major structural update in more than 30 years for the 85-year-old Bagnell Dam. The hydroelectric dam holds back 600 billion gallons of water from the Osage River at Lake of the Ozarks and is a source of clean energy for the entire state, as well as the centerpiece of a billion-dollar tourism destination.
When it was built in 1931, the Bagnell Dam, which created the Lake, was the largest construction project in the nation during the Great Depression. Today, it is the largest privately funded dam in the United States and produces more than 624,000 megawatt-hours of clean energy that powers 52,000 homes each year.
Work performed to enhance the structural integrity of the Bagnell Dam demanded expertise in heavy civil and major dam rehabilitation. The three-part project included installation of 67 new post-tension anchors to help secure the dam to the underlying bedrock; more than 66-million pounds of new concrete poured to further weigh down the dam; and a new concrete overlay to replace worn and cracked concrete on the east and west sections.
Notable innovations included the use of Project Tracker, a Lean construction tracking 3D model software developed by McCarthy to allow real-time integration of project data, enabling the project to be completed three months ahead of schedule. In addition, the project is the first in the U.S. to use Duoguard Formtex, a new permeable form liner, to complete the challenging vertical and diagonal concrete pours, ensuring a durable surface free from imperfections.
