The city of Spokane has named McMillen LLC, a Boise-based engineering and construction company, as the contractor for the $1.7 million second phase in a spillway rehabilitation project at Upriver Dam on the Spokane River. 

Upriver Dam is located along East Upriver Drive, just south of John C. Shields Park.

Marlene Feist, city utilities department spokeswoman, says the city has been working to improve the dam’s spillway over the last few years. 

“This project is part of ongoing maintenance work which will extend the life of the facility and allow for continued safety and stability in its operations,” says Feist. 

The project will include improvements to concrete on the spillway, and energy blocks on the downstream side of the dam. Energy blocks, also known as energy dissipaters, are meant to reduce the velocity of water flow and protect downstream areas from erosion. The project also includes some work on the spillway’s gate arms, which are used to regulate the flow of water. 

Feist says work on the project won’t begin until the summer, when the river is flowing at lower water levels. The city expects the new phase of the project to take three to five months to complete. 

The project’s $187,000 first phase, which involved reconditioning a spillway gate hoist, was completed in the fall of 2014 by Knight Construction & Supply Inc. of Deer Park. 

Upriver Hydroelectric Dam was originally built as a wooden dam in 1894. 

The city’s website states that the dam, which is owned and operated by the city of Spokane’s Water Department, generates more than 70 million kilowatts of electricity each year, which the city uses to pump water to its water customers.