Jamestown Dam
| Jamestown Dam | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Location | Stutsman County, North Dakota |
| Coordinates | 46°56′00″N 98°42′36″W / 46.9333°N 98.710°WCoordinates: 46°56′00″N 98°42′36″W / 46.9333°N 98.710°W |
| Construction began | 1952 |
| Opening date | 1953 |
| Construction cost | $1,941,857 |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Impounds | James River |
| Height | 85 ft |
| Length | 1418 ft |
| Width (base) | 215 ft |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Jamestown Reservoir |
| Total capacity | 230,000 acre feet (280,000,000 m3) |
| Surface area | 2,095 acres (8.48 km2) |
The Jamestown Dam is a rolled-earth dam spanning the James River in Stutsman County in the U.S. state of North Dakota, serving the primary purpose of flood control. It is north of the city of Jamestown, North Dakota. Built from April 1952 to September 1953, the dam measures 1,418 feet (432 m) long at the crest and 85 feet (26 m) high. It impounds the James River to form the Jamestown Reservoir. A small islet lies shortly upstream of the dam, where the James River previously split into two channels.
The dam and reservoir rest on a wide plain of shale where the James River cut a canyon up to 1 mile (1.6 km) wide and 100 feet (30 m) deep. The shale (called Pierre Shale) has a dark gray, bedded appearance, and is mostly claystone or siltstone. The valley also contains many traces of alluvium, mainly deposited during the last ice age when the area was heavily glaciated.
The dam was proposed in 1951. The site selected offered the required storage with the smallest dam and with close access to embankment materials; however, the underlying rock and soil was both unstable and pervious. The problems were considered minor because the extended storage need of the reservoir only consisted of the lower 30 feet (9.1 m) of the reservoir. If this had not compensated for the pervious material, the required excavations to stabilize the dam would have been over 120 feet (40 m) to solid bedrock.
Bids for dam construction were submitted by several companies in early 1952. A bid of $1,868,862 was offered by the C.F. Lytle Company of Sioux City, Iowa. This bid was accepted, and the contract was awarded on March 25, 1952 with the notice to proceed received on March 31. The outlet works, which consist of four high-pressure floodgates, were provided by the Hardie-Tynes Manufacturing Company of Birmingham, Alabama, at a cost of $72,995. This contract was awarded on March 10, 1952, and the final shipment of the gates was made during February 1953.
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