Repair work on Ascutney Mill Dam coming to a close

By JEFF EPSTEIN
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WINDSOR, Vt. — Since June, workers have been repairing the Ascutney Mill Dam on Kennedy Pond, and now the work is nearly complete. 

The Ascutney Mill Dam Historic District is listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The arch-gravity dam was built in 1834, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. The dam is 40 feet high and 360 feet long. Its purpose was to regulate the water flow and supply a constant source of power to the saw and grist mills in the area. 

Moretrench, a contractor from New Jersey has been doing work to repair and stabilize the structure.

The company drilled holes from 15 to 40 feet in length through the dry laid stone that makes up the face of the dam, said Town Manager Tom Marsh.

Concrete grout was poured into these holes, which also flowed into voids where soil had been washed away. Sand has also been poured into the structure to hold the concrete grout in place. This process locked the stone together to keep individual stones from slipping, Marsh said.

Funding for the project is from two sources. In 2014, the town voted for a $1.5 million bond to repair the dam. The town also received a $1.25 million grant for the project, Marsh said in a segment of his “Around Windsor” web video series.

The dam has a lot of historic engineering importance, and that status made it difficult for the town to get the necessary permits for the project.

Earlier work on the dam involved stabilizing the base of the dam wall, and making repairs to the water gate to allow the water level on the pond to be controlled. The pond level was lowered about 10 feet to allow Moretrench to bring in a barge for its work on the project, said Marsh.

Kennedy Pond is used for swimming during the summer.

“There’s about a 43-square-mile area that drains into this pond,” Marsh said. “So when it rains it doesn’t take a long time to fill things up.”

Morehouse declined a request for an interview.