Crane on barge aiding Fort Loudoun Dam improvement project

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ( WATE ) — The Tennessee Valley Authority shared photos of a project upgrading Fort Loudoun Dam involving a large crane.

“Construction crews are working to replace fourteen spillway gate hoists safely,” TVA stated on Facebook. “The large crane on a floating barge is used to place the huge components on the dam. This work will continue for the next 7 months as our skilled team works to get these crucial upgrades done!”

TVA told 6 News that these dam upgrades were scheduled long before the storms.

According to TVA’s website, construction on Fort Loudoun Dam, which is a hydroelectric facility, was completed in 1943. The dam is 122 feet high and stretches 4,190 feet across the Tennessee River, and its 60- by the 360-foot lock raises and lowers rivercraft about 70 feet between the Fort Loudoun Reservoir and Watts Bar Reservoir.

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