A favorite stretch of Lake Powell is off-limits after crews stumbled onto decades-old explosives left behind from the construction of Glen Canyon Dam. The National Park Service shut down Chains Road and The Chains day-use area Friday morning out of an abundance of caution, cutting off access to a spot known for its trailhead, picnic spot, fishing hole and cliff-scrambling swimming access just north of the dam.
The closure came after detonation cords were discovered inside several boreholes, though accounts differ on exactly where. According to AZFamily, the cords turned up along a restricted service road that leads directly to Glen Canyon Dam — a road the outlet emphasized is not open to the public. A separate report from azcentral.com described the cords as having been found inside several boreholes in Glen Canyon Dam itself, along the Colorado River. The two accounts don’t fully line up on the exact location, but both agree on what was found and why it mattered enough to shut the area down.
Bomb Squad Traces Materials Back to the 1950s
A bomb squad inspected the site and confirmed the materials date back to the dam’s original construction in the 1950s and 1960s, the same AZFamily report states. That timeline lines up with history: construction on Glen Canyon Dam began in October 1956, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower himself triggered the project’s first dynamite blast by telegraph from Washington, D.C. that same month.
Despite the unnerving discovery, officials say there’s no reason for alarm. Azcentral.com reported that officials determined there was no threat to public safety and assessed the risk to the dam itself as low. The National Park Service, Bureau of Reclamation and explosives experts have restricted access to the area while they figure out the best way to handle the old materials, according to ABC4.
What Happens to the Old Explosives Now
Authorities are now working through whether to remove the detonation cords entirely or safely detonate them on-site, per the same AZFamily report. In the meantime, visitors are being asked to respect the posted closures around Chains Road and the day-use area and stay away until further notice.
The Chains is normally one of the more popular pockets of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, drawing paddlers, anglers and swimmers looking to cool off in Lake Powell. For now, though, that stretch east of the dam is closed while crews sort out what to do with relics of a construction project that reshaped the Colorado River nearly seven decades ago.
