Sean C. Morgan
Work on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ new $18.6 million fish transfer facility is progressing with the digging of a pre-sorting pool and preparation of the ground for some of the major structures at the site, on the east end of Andrew Wiley Park.
The Natt McDougall Company, the contractor, is also finishing preparation for various pipes, including fish, drains, storm water and water lines, said Project Engineer Albert Wright of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Workers have also moved utilities.
Initial site work began in November, with major excavation throughout December.
“It’s going well,” Wright said. “The contractor, they’ve really gained momentum and speed. Hopefully in a month, we’ll start laying some concrete.
“I think we’re pretty close to grade on the major structures.”
In the next few weeks, the contractor will test the ground to ensure the proper compaction, Wright said. Some grades may still need adjustment.
Andrew Wiley Park and the boat ramp remain accessible, Wright said. The contractor is ensuring the park remains open throughout the project.
The facility will provide the Corps the ability to sort spring Chinook and winter steelhead, both listed under the Endangered Species Act, without handling the fish as much – potentially, not at all.
The goal is to reduce pre-spawn mortality as the wild fish travel upstream.
The fish will travel up the existing fish ladder and then be carried back to the sorting facility.
Fish can then be redirected to the river or directed to a waiting biologist, who sorts briefly by hand or by directing the fish through the flumes to trucks waiting to deliver them above the dam.
Handling should be brief, and if the biologist is quick enough, they may not need to be handled at all, according to Project Manager Christine Budai.
The project is based on a biological opinion issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service in July 2008, she said. That opinion recommended “a number of reasonable and prudent alternatives” for the Corps and the Environmental Protection Agency to help fish get past the dam to spawn in streams up the river.
Over the years, fish have been lifted in a hopper to the top of the dam where they were sorted, and in more recent years, they have been sorted inside the dam after being trapped, and sent down tubes to waiting trucks for delivery upstream for wild fish and downstream or to the South Santiam Fish Hatchery, in the case of hatchery fish.
The Corps awarded the contract on Aug. 15. Completion is scheduled for Feb. 28, 2014, and officials anticipate opening the facility in April 2014 following testing.