Fraco Involved in the Tallest Dam Raise in the United States

In preparing the inclined concrete face of the San Vicente Dam located in Lakeside, Calif., the past experience of Canadian mast climber Fraco Products Ltd. and American Hydro, a company that specializes in hydrodemolition, have created an efficient access solution.

These works are the first steps of a $568 million project that consists of raising the height of San Vicente Dam, which is owned and operated by the City of San Diego. Currently at 220 feet, the dam will be raised of an additional 117 feet. Construction works are scheduled from 2009 to 2012 and will be split into several distinct construction phases. This first phase consisted of removing two to three inches of the dry side of the dam to create a good bonding surface for the 800,000 cubic yard of roller-compacted concrete, plus a significant amount of conventional concrete that will raise the dam to 337 feet.

The first installations of Fraco mast sections on the inclined concrete face of the San Vicente Dam required few adjustments. Once the first three rails were installed, American Hydro came up and fit its robot on the first mast section and the concrete removal works began. As the works progressed, each mast section was moved to another area of the wall. The whole surface was planned to be completed by the end of April 2010.