Throughout the past year and a half, crews have been working on the reinforced concrete spillway on the left (west) abutment of the main dam. Despite setbacks due to this spring’s heavy rain events, the project has made significant progress. Since completing excavation, 1,700 cubic yards of concrete have been placed on the bottom “tray” of the spillway, which includes approximately 29 individual slabs that combine for 725 feet of its total length of 2,907 feet. Five box culvert sections (the concrete wall and roof enclosures) have been placed, resulting in 125 feet of fully completed spillway. Construction of each 25-foot section of box culvert takes about one week using a slipform machine. The forms are flown in by crane and prepared with rebar, a bulkhead and water stop before concrete is placed. Once this occurs, the concrete must be cured to 75 percent strength before the slipform equipment can be removed. To help speed up production time, two more slipform machines are in the process of being added.