World’s First All-Rollcrete Dam

Willow Creek Dam in Oregon will be the world's first concrete gravity dam designed specifically for and exclusively by roller compaction methods. The average in-place cost for all mass concrete in the structure is $18.93 per cubic yard (based on low bid unit prices) compared to an estimated $65 per cubic yard for conventional mass concrete. All test data to date show that, at any age and cement content, strengths for the roller compacted concrete are higher than would typically be achieved for conventional mass concrete of the same age and cement content. The article describes in detail the design and construction procedure project. A box discusses the definition of rollcrete and speculates on possible future applications.