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Public Works details Oklahoma River winter repairs, $2M Paul Brum dam rehab
Summary
Jess Shumway of Oklahoma City Public Works presented winter maintenance plans for the Oklahoma River including a $2 million Paul Brum dam rehabilitation, sediment removal, debris-barrier anchoring and an in-house dredging program aimed at supporting river operations and boat access.
Jess Shumway, senior project manager with Oklahoma City Public Works, told the Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority on Jan. 9 that the department is carrying out several winter projects on the Oklahoma River designed to preserve dam infrastructure and maintain navigation.
"One of the projects we have this winter is our Paul Brum dam rehab. This is just over a $2,000,000 project," Shumway said, describing concrete repairs, painting, surface cleaning and replacement of boat-lock seals. She said similar work was completed last year at the May Dam at a cost just over about $1,000,000.
Shumway outlined other recent and planned work: anchoring improvements on debris barriers to prevent material from entering the main floodway; a Canal Zone project that replaced a failing stacked-stone wall with a continuous poured-concrete wall (about $800,000); targeted sediment removal in areas above the May Dam and between the Broom Dam, Walker and Robinson; and several shoreline riprap repairs. She said the department’s annual river maintenance budget is typically $500,000 but that grant funds have been used to remove considerably more material.
The presentation included a description of an in-house dredging capability intended to operate more continuously through the basin without a cabling system, allowing dunes and debris to be removed while preserving boat operations. Shumway said crews currently collect about 1,600 cubic yards of debris annually.
Shumway also described equipment and methods that reduce the need to dewater basins for certain repairs. "We’re able to utilize cranes to reach the cylinders and that allows us to not drain the basins in order to perform that type of work," she said.
Why it matters: the timing of repairs affects river-dependent operations such as the Oklahoma River Cruises. In response to board questions, Shumway said the project timeline points to late February work that should allow riverboat operations to resume in time for an early-April service start.
The presentation closed after board questions about schedule and basin refill times. No formal action was taken on the projects during the meeting; staff said additional routine maintenance and monitoring will continue.
