The NYPA Board of Trustees approved the award of a $18.7M contract to Hohl Industrial services, Inc of Tonawanda for the refurbishment of 27 intake gates and six draft tube gates, and awarded Scrufari Construction of Niagara Falls $1.6M for work on the intake deck and hatch covers, both at the Robert Moses Niagara Power Project. In a statement, Michael J. Townsend, chairman of NYPA’s Board of Trustees, said the work is critical to the continued operation of the Niagara Power Project, NYPA’s largest hydropower facility.
Hohl Industrial Services, which submitted the lowest-cost bid of seven proposals stemming from a 2009 Request for Proposals (RFP), will undertake a project expected to be completed in 2023. This project includes the refurbishment of intake gates at the head of the dam that have been in service with the Niagara Power Project since its commissioning decades ago. After approximately 50 years of operation, the intake gates are exhibiting signs of significant corrosion and deterioration. In addition, the deterioration of the rubber seals on the gates has made it increasingly difficult to obtain an adequate seal, which is critical to safety when taking the units out of service for maintenance.
The project will also include the refurbishment of six draft tube gates, which act to isolate the discharge from the 13 turbines at the tail end of the dam.
Specifically, Hohl will be replacing the rubber seals, reconditioning the grease delivery system to the wheels, refurbishing the gate structural and skin plate components and recoating each of the 27 gates to ensure proper functionality and to extend their useful life. The intake gate refurbishment program will be performed sequentially, with one gate being refurbished in 2010 and two gates completed each year following.
Other work at the Niagara Power Project will be done by Scrufari Construction Company, which submitted the lowest-cost proposal following a RFP earlier this year. The work will include the replacement of concrete hatch seal strips, cleaning and repainting of hatch steel frames, repair of delaminated concrete and cleaning and repair of the drainage system. This is the second phase in a five-year program implemented to assure the integrity of critical equipment, which, if it should fail, would greatly impact power generation.