In one of the fastest-paced civic construction jobs in recent U.S. history, hundreds of carpenters, operating engineers and iron workers are rushing to complete repairs to the damaged Oroville Dam spillway. A panel of investigators believes the water penetrated the spillway’s massive concrete slabs and heaved them upward, causing the dam’s foundation to fall apart. The company is “burning” through about $1 million a day, a ferocious rate of spending in the construction industry, Petersen said. The original estimate came in at $275 million, but it now looks like the tab will hit $500 million, said Erin Mellon, a Department of Water Resources spokeswoman. When the main chute was damaged in February, operators shut it down and let water overflow the emergency spillway.

Source: Los Angeles Times October 20, 2017 02:48 UTC