The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has resumed rehabilitation work on an area of Wolf Creek Dam in southern Kentucky that was halted as a precaution last year.The work was stopped after monitors reported increased pressure near what’s called Critical Area 1, where an earthen embankment wraps around a concrete section of the dam. Project manager David Hendrix says follow-up data indicated there was no instability.Engineers are again drilling in the area to prepare it for the installation of a section of new barrier wall. Wolf Creek Dam is in the midst of a $584 million repair project. Officials launched the plan in 2006 after determining the dam was at risk of failure, which would cause major flooding in several cities, including Nashville. Hendrix says completion of the repairs is more than two years away."We’re still looking at probably the December, 2013 time frame, which is what we have been reporting for some time now," he said. The dam’s condition has forced engineers to lower the Lake Cumberland water level.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.