Great Stone Dam

Lawrence MA

Hydroelectric Facility and Dam Renovations
Lawrence, Massachusetts

The H.L. Turner Group worked closely with the Owner to design the retrofit of the existing “Great Stone Dam” in Lawrence, MA to accommodate the installation of a 900-foot long by 5-foot high Obermeyer pneumatic crest gate, the longest of its kind in North America.

As part of a separate project, our team also designed a deep, structural steel, water retaining cofferdam at the intake of one of the turbine bays in order to conduct repairs of the badly damaged trashrack, as well as add additional structural capacity to the turbine draft tube gate.  Since the original trashrack was constructed integral with the concrete powerhouse structure, replacement created numerous challenges in terms of material selection and anchorage to the existing intake opening, which our designs were able to overcome.