Due to construction associated with the Folsom Dam Raise Project, vehicle access to the North Granite Bay areas including Beeks Bight, Dotons Point and Oak Beach will be closed at Folsom Dam Dike 1 until approximately the end of January 2024, according to information shared in a press release this week from the Sacramento District of the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
Visitors hiking, biking or horseback riding can use the trails surrounding Dike 1 to access the North Granite Bay trail system, according the to the release. The horse assembly area will remain accessible via a temporary detour road located past the Granite Bay Main Beach parking lot just south of the Park Road closure.
Back in April of this year, the USACE awarded a $114.4 million construction contract for the Folsom Dam Raise project to Folsom Dam Constructors (FDC), a joint venture of California Engineering Contractors, Inc. and Shimmick Construction Company. The project is raising Dike 1 up to 3.5 feet in accordance with the plans for the overall Folsom Dam Raise Project, which calls for similar raises to all eight dikes as well as the left and right wing dams, Mormon Island Auxiliary Dam, and the main dam itself.
Folsom Dam Constructors will be responsible for raising the main dam and left and right wing dams up to 3.5 feet and modifying the eight spillway gates by adding top seals, strengthening the gates, and raising the gate piers.
According the the USACE, together, these measures will allow greater control of releases from the dam during large flood events and increase the temporary storage capacity of Folsom Lake that can be used to mitigate flooding for the greater Sacramento area. This will reduce the flood risk for 500,000 residents and $58 billion of assets downstream.
“Although there’s much work left to be done, this award represents the culmination of several years of effort from our dedicated team,” said Elvan Childs, USACE project manager. “We’re excited to continue push this project forward.”
Folsom Dam Raise carries on the work begun by the Joint Federal Project (JFP) between USACE and the Bureau of Reclamation, which operates the Folsom Dam facility. The primary component of the JFP was construction of the Folsom Dam auxiliary spillway, which was completed in 2017. Dike 8, on the southeastern side of Folsom Lake, was raised 3.5 feet in 2020 as part of the project’s first component.
Follow-on work will include the raise of the remaining seven dikes and Mormon Island Auxiliary Dam, and reconfiguring the Folsom Dam penstock gates with modernized temperature control shutters.
The Folsom Dam Raise project is scheduled for completion in 2027.
As previously detailed back in April at www.folsomtimes.com, the purpose of the Folsom Dam Raise Project is to reduce flood risk for the greater Sacramento area by increasing the temporary storage capacity of Folsom Lake by approximately 28,000 acre-feet. This increased capacity is intended to be used only in an extreme flooding scenario and will not impact Folsom Lake limits under normal operating conditions.
For up-to-date information on USACE the current and upcoming construction impacts near Folsom State Recreation Area, residents can visit the USACE Sacramento District website at: www.spk.usace.army.mil or the California Department of Parks and Recreation, Folsom State Recreation Area: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=500.
