Army Corps Awards $20M Contract to Replace Albeni Falls Dam Spillway Gates

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $20 million contract to Knight Construction and Supply to replace all 11 spillway gates at Albeni Falls Dam in Oldtown, Idaho, according to a Wednesday press release.

The contract covers the full complement of gates at the dam, which sits on the Pend Oreille River and regulates levels in Lake Pend Oreille. Alongside the gate replacement announcement, the Army Corps also disclosed plans for a gradual spring refill of the lake.

Details on that refill schedule will be presented at a public meeting in Sandpoint on May 7. Army Corps officials plan to gather at the Sandpoint Center from 5 to 7 p.m. to walk through the refill timeline, restricted operations, project updates, and a forecast for snowpack and inflows into the reservoir.

The gate replacement project is a significant infrastructure investment at a dam that has operated for decades as a critical piece of flood control and hydropower infrastructure in northern Idaho. All 11 existing spillway gates are slated for replacement under the Knight Construction and Supply contract.

The May 7 meeting gives the public its first structured opportunity to ask Army Corps officials directly about how restricted dam operations during the project may affect lake levels heading into summer.