Wilson Dam Road will close to vehicles and pedestrians beginning Oct. 5 as the Tennessee Valley Authority launches a major safety and maintenance project at the century-old Wilson Dam.
The project is expected to last up to six months, depending on weather, and will include replacing the chains on all 49 spillway gates. The gates are used to manage water flows during normal operations and major weather events.
TVA crews will also perform routine maintenance on two of Wilson Dam’s 21 generating units during the project.
The road across the dam will remain closed to both vehicle and pedestrian traffic while the work is underway. TVA said signs and barriers will be installed to alert the public and that the closure is necessary to protect workers, the public and critical infrastructure.
The work comes just over a year after Wilson Dam celebrated 100 years of commercial operation.
Wilson Dam began generating electricity on Sept. 12, 1925, and is now TVA’s largest conventional hydroelectric facility. The National Historic Landmark stretches nearly a mile across the Tennessee River and stands 137 feet high.
Its 21 generating units have a combined capacity of up to 663 megawatts, enough to power more than 380,000 homes and businesses across the Tennessee Valley, according to TVA.
Built between 1918 and 1924 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilson Dam was originally constructed to support World War I munitions production and was named for President Woodrow Wilson. TVA acquired the dam in 1933 as part of its effort to develop the Tennessee River system for power generation, navigation, flood control and economic development.
The dam also transformed the once-treacherous Muscle Shoals section of the Tennessee River into a navigable waterway. Wilson’s main lock has a maximum lift of 100 feet, making it the highest single-lift lock east of the Rocky Mountains. More than 3,700 vessels carrying about 11 million tons of goods pass through Wilson’s locks each year, according to TVA.
The latest work is part of continued investment in a facility TVA intends to keep operating well into its second century.
TVA has been refurbishing generating units at Wilson through its Hydro Life Extension Program, an effort designed to extend the life of the plant while improving dam safety and increasing hydroelectric generation.
“Wilson Dam is more than concrete and turbines. It represents innovation, perseverance and community,” Wilson Dam Plant Manager Tabatha Lolley said during the dam’s centennial celebration last year. “As we celebrate its centennial, we honor the generations who built and supported this historic power plant and remain committed to continuing its long-standing impact of transformation and service to the people of the Tennessee Valley.”
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