Fontana Dam
TVA concrete gravity dam on the Little Tennessee River, North Carolina, USA.
At a glance
| Source | Author | Role | In one line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sawing a Dam in Half (on Purpose) | Practical Engineering | subject | The dam that keeps growing and has to be sawn in half to relieve it. |
Sawing a Dam in Half (on Purpose) — Practical Engineering (2025)
Source: Original · Readwise highlight
This is Fontana Dam on the Little Tennessee River in North Carolina. At 150 meters (or nearly 500 feet) in height, it’s the tallest dam east of the Mississippi River.
- Role: subject
- In the article: Finished in 1944, Fontana developed cracks found in 1972, and its concrete turned out to be permanently swelling from alkali-silica reaction. In 1976 TVA cut a relief slot through the dam with diamond wire behind a cofferdam, without draining the reservoir; the slot closes over time and has to be recut.
- Why it matters: It is the main case study for the article’s counter-intuitive fix.