Slayden Constructors completed improvements to the north shore fish ladder entrance at the John Day Dam, enhancing passage efficiency and reducing delays for migrating fish. The project combined careful water management, coordinated dive operations, and selective demolition to rebuild the ladder entrance with a new variable width weir and upgraded stoplogs with new guide slots.
Slayden fabricated and installed custom steel components, added new gratings and diffuser supports, and improved flow control capabilities by installing modern slide gates and actuators. The team also carried out concrete removal and reconstruction within the flow chambers, Government Furnished Property relocation, replaced the existing trashracks, and installed a new Passive Integrated Tag (PIT) system to support ongoing fish monitoring efforts. Crane support was provided throughout for research operations. Together, these upgrades strengthened the ladder’s performance and supported long term fish recovery across the Columbia River Basin.
Slayden earned First Place in the 2025 AGC Construction Safety Excellence Awards (CSEA) in the Utility Infrastructure Category — Under 500,000 Work Hours.
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Slayden Constructors and Jacobs Engineering recently completed a $78 million expansion of the Robert A. Duff Water Treatment Plant for the Medford Water Commission. The project boosts capacity from 45 to 65 million gallons per day and adds advanced filtration, a new reservoir, a modern pump station, and seismic‑resilient redundancies. This upgrade strengthens long‑term water reliability for Medford and the greater Rogue Valley, supporting regional growth and public health.
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Slayden’s Jeff Wall recently achieved a unique milestone. At the Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association (PNCWA) conference in Spokane, Washington, Jeff became the first contractor to be chosen under the PNCWA to join the Select Society of Sanitary Sludge Shovelers, also known as the 5S society. Members are selected based on “outstanding, meritorious service above and beyond the call of duty.” As recognition for this achievement, Jeff received a one-of-a-kind -5S gold shovel award.
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