Guri Dam and Powerhouse

The Guri Dam and Powerhouse project enhanced the capacity of this hydroelectric facility. Atkinson completed this concrete gravity dam, increasing its size from 348 to 532 feet high and from 2,772 feet long to 4,314 feet long. The project also featured the construction of an 8,050-megawatt, 10-unit powerhouse and the installation and testing of turbine generators. In total, the team placed 8,280,000 cubic yards of concrete.

A notable aspect of the project involved raising the operating level of the existing reservoir. This included a meticulous process of demolishing the existing top of the dam and spillway piers to seamlessly integrate the new design with the old infrastructure. The execution of this task involved the utilization of hydraulic and pneumatic breakers on the dam, with controlled explosives and pneumatic breakers employed in the spillway. It is noteworthy that all these efforts had to be carefully coordinated while the existing powerhouse and spillway remained in operation, in conjunction with the challenges posed by low annual water flows during the dry season.