1936 Hawks Nest Dam, 102mw Powerhouse, Tunnel at New River and Silicosis

Dam: (B&T; Satellite)

Hydropower: (Satellite)

A little downstream from here, after the New River and Gauley River join to create the Kanawha River, there is the Hawks Nest Hydro facility. To avoid confusion, I use the other name for that facility: Glenn Ferris Dam.

The dam is just a diversion dam. A 3.1 mile long tunnel carries water from the dam to... 

THE THINKER, Jun 2022

...the hydropower plant that is five miles downstream as the river bends. (I've also seen values of 3.5 and 3.8 for the length of the tunnel.)

Cultural Resource Analysts

The 3.1 mile tunnel is labeled "AQUEDUCT" on these topo maps. The 5-mile stretch of river between the diversion dam and the powerhouse is called the "Dries" because most of the water in the river is diverted. During the dry season, only enough water is allowed by the dam to keep the fish and water plants alive.

1969 Gauley Bridge, Beckwith and Fayetteville Quads @ 24,000

Kenny Kemp, Gazette-Mail via herald-dispatch, web site offers photo purchase
The workers in the tunnels worked 10hour shifts, six days per week. "Exposure to silica dust from drilling into the sandstone of Gauley Mountain began to produce disability and death within months. According to a study by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, those who employed the tunnelers did not provide adequate ventilation, issue respirators or use wet drilling practices to reduce dust. By the time the project was complete and the dust had settled, hundreds — possibly a thousand or more — of the tunnel workers, most of them Black, had died, or were dying, from silicosis. Death estimates range from 476, reported in 1936, to 764, the result of a 1986 study by Charniak, an epidemiologist, to 1,000, the result of a 2002 NIOSH study. By 1937, 46 states had passed laws offering protections to workers dealing with silica dust and silicosis."

Kenny Kemp, Gazette-Mail via herald-dispatch, web site offers photo purchase

The only thing you can see from the WV-60 is the top of the surge tank and the roof.

Street View

2 of 7 photos posted by Bridges & Tunnels with Sherman Cahal with the comment:

Hawks Nest Dam impounds the New River near Gauley Bridge, West Virginia. A significant amount of water flows through a 3½-mile tunnel to a hydroelectric power plant. Although the construction of the dam, tunnel, and power plant helped fuel the industrial expansion along the Kanawha River valley, it led to a significant amount of preventable deaths attributed to silicosis. And almost all of those exploited workers were Black.

Learn more about the construction of Hawks Nest Dam, how the workers came down with silicosis, and how the dead were mistreated: http://bridgestunnels.com/location/hawks-nest-dam/

a

b

Digitally Zoomed

nps
The tunnel is 32' to 36' in diameter.
"The interior of the tunnel was a white cloud of silica, impairing vision and clogging the lungs of workers....Silicosis has been designated as an occupational disease with compensation for workers. However, tunnel workers at Hawk’s Nest were not protected by these laws."

Bridges & Tunnels
"The workers were not given masks or specialized breathing equipment to use while mining, although management wore such equipment during inspections. As a result of the exposure to silica dust, many workers developed silicosis, a debilitating lung disease. About 60% of the Hawks Nest workers were unable to work after just two months of underground work, while 80% were rendered disabled after working underground for six months."