Really big crane set for Mirror Pond dam project

PacifiCorp to lower river level for maintenance work

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The water level of Mirror Pond, the section of the Deschutes River immediately upstream from PacifiCorp’s Bend hydroelectric facility, will be lowered about 2 feet below normal for this time of year to accommodate maintenance work on part of the dam early next month.

A large crane will be moved into the parking lot near the dam immediately downstream of the Newport Avenue Bridge to facilitate the routine maintenance work, the utility said Tuesday.

The utility said the work is being done this time of year in order to cause the least inconvenience possible to the public and river users. No traffic issues are anticipated.

The work is planned to begin Dec. 2 and last about two weeks. At this time, no contractors have signed to do the work, PacifiCorp said.

Vernam Crane Service of Redmond said it has had the 400-ton Liebheer crane with 100 feet of jib — biggest in the region — for about a year, but this is their first use of it at maximum height, so they’ve been doing some testing.

“There's only one place where we can set up in (by the Bend project), and that put us 220 feet away from the location where we have to make the lift,” Operations Manager Jake Vernam said. “So because it's such a big radius, and such a big distance away, we have to use such a big crane to handle that much weight that far away."