BULL SHOALS, Arkansas (14 May 2006) -- Divers recovered a 5,500-pound chain Wednesday at the bottom of Bull Shoals Dam. The penstock head gate roller chain, which looks like a huge bicycle chain, was lost two months ago when a pin holding the chain in place was found broken. One of the dam's generating units had to be taken off line. Divers with the U.S. Army's 86th Engineering Team and the U.S. Army Dive Company of Ft. Eustis, Va., retrieved the chain after a 125-foot dive. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers closed State Highway 178 over the dam Tuesday, Wednesday and today. Officials said the road will be open Friday. Bull Shoals Dam acting power plant supervisor Steve Hernandez said the operation went better than anticipated. "They had the chain up in less than an hour and a half," he said. "That is a credit to this dive team." Hernandez said a preliminary inspection shows the chain will likely need to be replaced. He said the chain will be thoroughly inspected at a later time. | | Col. Wally Walters, Corps commander/district engineer, said he did not know how long it would take to replace the chain. Hernandez said the divers also were able to inspect the dam during the operation. He said no debris accumulation was found, and everything appeared to be in good shape. "It's 55 years old and still operating like the day we opened it," he said. SOURCE - Baxter Bulletin |
