BOISE, Idaho - The Bureau of Reclamation awarded a $12.8 million contract on July 22 to Condon-Johnson & Associates, Inc., based in Kent, Washington. The construction work involves building a secant or concrete shaft adjacent to the Cle Elum Dam, located 75 miles northwest of Yakima, Washington.
The secant shaft is an underground vault that will eventually house the juvenile fish passage structure, allowing young salmon to safely bypass the dam to the river below. The Fish Passage Facility is a component of the Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan, which focuses on water conservation, irrigation needs, fisheries and watershed health.
On-site work is expected to begin in the spring of 2017 and be completed by March 2019.
“This is exciting because we are constructing a unique and innovative fish passage system," said Regional Director Lorri Lee. “By working in partnership with the Yakama Nation, the state of Washington and others, we are one step closer to restoring a historic and culturally significant salmon run to the Yakima Basin."
Condon-Johnson & Associates specialize in heavy civil geotechnical construction and engineering. It has completed hundreds of projects involving specialty foundation services and ground improvement methods since 1976.
Source: Bureau of Reclamation
