Largest damn-removal project in the world comes to an end with explosives

The Glines Canyon Dam was built in 1927 and formed a 64-meter high damn forming Lake Mills in the Olympic National Park, Washington. However, the dam had some serious consequences on the river habitat, including stopping some 400,000 salmon returning each year to spawn.



That should no longer be the case as a project to remove the dam in 2011 has now been completed. The last stage of the removal involved the use of explosives to demolish the last 30 feet of the damn. With the dam gone, and the area under the dam restored to stop erosion, it is hoped the local river habitat will recover quickly.

Source: National Geographic

500-ton crane topples in Washington

A crane brought in to help deal with damage caused by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake in Washington near the National Cathedral has toppled over during a thunderstorm.

The crane was carrying a heavy load of steel when the driver noticed lightning and decided he needed to move the crane into a safer position: without the arm being up. As he started to lower the steel the center of gravity of the crane shifted and it flipped over.

The driver was injured, but not too severely. There doesn't seem to be any other victims, but 3 cars were damaged as was a small building called Herb Cottage that offers gifts for the National Cathedral.

At the moment it's unclear why the crane flipped as it did. The weather conditions were very bad with heavy rain, thunder, and lightning. The other problem now is President Obama is set to speak at the Cathedral this weekend to remember 9/11. No one knows if that is still going to go ahead.

Source:  Tucone

Hanford East Powerhouse stack demolition

At the end of last month we brought you some video footage of the West Powerhouse stack demolition on the Hanford site in Washington. Today, we've got the East Powerhouse stacks footage, and it's even better.

Although smaller than the Western section, this demolition included two 250-foot fall exhaust chimneys, three 90-foot tall air filter structures and a coal silo.

Source: The Wrecking Ball