A historic granite wingwall - built as part of a now-demolished mill building from the 1880s - adjacent to the Central Falls Dam at Fish Ladder Park in Dover, New Hampshire, became unstable and needed replacement. This story reported by
, a local newspaper that covers New Hampshire and southern Maine, appeared during the removal of the old wall phase of the project:
Wall removal begins by Central Falls dam
Work designed to stabilize area, allow closer viewing of river near mill building
by Brian Early
DOVER — Those who were downtown Tuesday may have seen an excavator removing granite stones near the fish ladder adjacent to the Central Falls dam.
After mobilizing earlier this month, workers from George R. Cairns and Sons, Inc. of Windham began pulling back the old granite wall Tuesday morning that had been bulging toward the river.
Mike Philbrook, the Cairns and Sons site superintendent, said crews installed steel plates Monday in the area where the excavator dug to protect the Cocheco River fish ladder. Crews will move the steel plates towards the mill building as the week progresses to allow the excavator to pull back the length of the granite wall.
Philbrook said site work might slow down next week so that utility crews can relocate a communication line that is buried in the area.
The work is part of a $1.1 million contract with the city to remove the wall and replace with interlocking, precast concrete blocks built to withstand the lateral pressure of the earth the current wall cannot. The granite wall that Cairns and Sons is removing is believed to be part of a foundation of a former mill that stood in the area.
Dover Director of Community Services John Storer said the excavator will dig more than 30 feet deep to remove the old granite wall and build the new one. The old granite blocks are planned to be moved to the city’s waterfront property off Washington Street to be reused in future projects. The excavated materials are being transported to the dredge cell at Maglaras Park.
Once the wall is rebuilt, the walkway next to the retaining wall will be replaced. The new wall will follow the angle of the fish ladder, allowing closer viewing of the river in the area close to a Cocheco mill building.