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Oroville – Construction at the Lake Oroville spillways is on schedule to meet a Nov. 1 deadline for this year’s repairs, according to the Department of Water Resources.

The department has passed the midway point on its construction timeline for this year’s repairs on the main spillway, which was badly damaged during high February releases. Construction efforts will remain focused on meeting the Nov. 1 deadline, DWR staff said during a conference call with media.

Demolition, excavation and preparation of the 2,270 feet of the main spillway that will be reconstructed this year is now complete. The construction of the 1,050-foot middle section of the spillway chute is now about 20 percent complete, with approximately 60,000 cubic yards of roller-compacted concrete in place.

The placement of reinforced structural concrete is 25 percent complete with 25 slabs of structural concrete in place so far. At completion, there will be a total of 1,220 feet of spillway chute with structural concrete — 870 feet on the upper portion of the spillway and 350 in the lower portion of the spillway.

The timeline for construction, which DWR officials previously described as “aggressive,” has required a massive amount of labor. To date, crews have worked over 320,000 man hours without a recorded injury, project director Jeff Petersen said. More than 600 employees are working double shifts six days a week, the peak rate of work, Petersen said.

Work continues at the emergency spillway and DWR is on schedule to complete construction of the cut-off wall in late December or early January.

Staff also provided updates on several other matters:

• DWR crews performed weed abatement this week on the vegetation area on the face of Oroville Dam. Staff said the abatement was routine maintenance necessary for DWR to have clear access for observation.

• The independent Board of Consultants will meet with DWR for the 11th time Thursday and Friday.

• The Forensic Team will visit the spillways site later this month to receive a progress update on construction.

• DWR staff advised that the lake elevation, which is currently at 763 feet — about 137 feet from the top — will in November drop to about 700 feet as a public safety precaution.

Reach reporter Dani Anguiano at 896-7767.

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