Inundated Bridge: (Satellite)
New Bridge: (Satellite)
This dam is about a mile away from the GAP Trail in Confluence, PA.
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| USACE "Youghiogheny has the capability to store the equivalent run-off of 11 inches of precipitation from its 434 square mile drainage area." (This USACE source says it can store the equivalent of 21 inches of rain.) |
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| Confluence, Pennsylvania 101 posted YOUGHIOGHENY RIVER LAKE: What a difference eight years made! There was the Great St. Patrick’s Day Flood of 1936 that wreaked havoc in Confluence and forced Congress to enact the ‘Flood Control Act.’ The residents were informed of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plan to construct a mammoth dam in 1939. The tracks to the Confluence and Oakland Railroad were pulled up and Somerfield abandoned by 1942. World War II halted construction briefly. By 1943, the Dam was completed and filled in 1944. (Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Visual Digital Library.) Confluence, Pennsylvania 101 shared |
I didn't notice the hydropower plant until I noticed the "Outflow Playground." Because the powerhouse is downstream from the dam, the tow of the dam is grass.
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| Satellite |
The 12mw powerhouse has two units, and averages 46gwh per year. It went online in 1998. [hydroreform]
The powerhouse must have been added to the end of the outlet works. (inis confirms that it was added to the outlet works.)
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| USACE_brochure |
I noticed that a parking lot would be underwater if the emergency spillway was active. And then I noticed that the water level is so low that the boat ramp doesn't even reach the water in this satellite image. According to Google Earth, this looks like the Nov 2016 image.
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| Satellite |
"Youghiogheny River Lake was established in 1944 with the construction of the 184-foot high, 1,604-foot wide Youghiogheny Dam....When water in the lake is extremely low, travelers and boaters can sometimes see a portion of the triple-arched sandstone Great Crossings Bridge, built in 1818 to carry the National Road across the Youghiogheny River." [GAPtrail]
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| Confluence, Pennsylvania 101 posted THE 1818 GREAT CROSSINGS BRIDGE was built to connect Somerset and Fayette Counties along the first federally funded National Road in its heyday. What once spanned the Youghiogheny River has been submerged under the Youghiogheny since 1944. When the Youghiogheny River Lake water level is low—the old bridge is brought to light. Photo: On The Road In Pennsylvania. |
More dams were planned for the Youghiogheny River, but WWII put a stop to that plan. [HistoryOfTheUpperYough]
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