Concrete Trucks Work 24-Hour Days During Dam Remediation Project

Twenty-four Oshkosh S-Series concrete trucks delivered concrete 24 hours a day, six days a week, for four years to complete the dam project

June 3, 2013

Over the course of four years, Oshkosh S-Series forward placement concrete mixer trucks spent many months running 24 hours per day, six days per week on the Wolf Creek Dam Remediation project.

The Challenge:

Constructing an entire barrier wall and work platform requiring nearly 300,000 cubic yards of concrete and 1,197 piles extending 275 feet into the bedrock below the foundation.

The Players:

Plyes Concrete
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

The Process:

The Wolf Creek Dam Remediation project in Jamestown, Ky., required nearly 300,000 cubic yards of concrete placed in constructing the entire barrier wall and work platform. Pyles Concrete of Columbia, Ky., used Oshkosh S-Series trucks, each with an 11-cubic-yard capacity, to deliver and place the concrete.

The Wolf Creek Dam Remediation project includes 1,197 piles that are each approximately four feet in diameter and extend 275 feet into bedrock below the foundation of the dam’s 4,000-foot-long embankment.

“The logistical challenges on this project were formidable, but together with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and very experienced contractors, we made a great team,” said Doug Pyles, president of Pyles Concrete. “We had 24 Oshkosh S-Series vehicles in our fleet during the project, and for many months the trucks were running 24 hours per day, six days a week, for four years. The S-Series vehicles were incredibly reliable; we purchased four new ones when the job began and the rest came from our existing fleet.”

In addition, concrete batch plant manufacturer, CON-E-CO (also part of the Oshkosh Commercial Group), played an important role on the project. Its LO-PRO portable batch plant was located near the site and mixed all of the concrete used at Wolf Creek Dam Remediation project.

Wolf Creek Dam is on the Cumberland River in south central Kentucky. The lake’s huge water storage capability provides downstream communities with important flood risk reduction. The dam’s water resources also provide commercial navigation, water supply, water quality, hydropower and environmental benefits.

“Lake Cumberland is the most famous feature of South Central Kentucky, so we were very proud to have been a part of this project,” Pyles said. “The stakes were pretty high, as well, with Nashville being downstream of the dam and the possibility of the dam failing before the repair work could be finished.”