Above: A Flickr slideshow of photos taken during a DEP-led tour of the Gilboa Dam for local officials and media. Photos by Lissa Harris.
Cross your fingers for good weather in Gilboa this summer.
Weather permitting, a $400 million reconstruction project at the Gilboa Dam is on track to be finished almost two years ahead of schedule, according to officials at the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. The project, begun in 2011 and originally slated for a 2016 completion date, is now likely to be finished in 2014.
Decades of wear have taken their toll on the 87-year-old dam, and constant freezing and thawing have eroded the dam's massive stone face. In 2005 and 2006, the DEP undertook some emergency stabilization work to strengthen the dam. The current -- and far more ambitious -- reconstruction project now underway at the dam adds dozens of post-tensioning anchors, several hundred million pounds of concrete, and a reconstructed spillway. Read more