The Chicopee Falls Local Protection Project is located primarily along the east bank of the Chicopee River in the Chicopee Falls section of Chicopee. The project, in conjunction with the Barre Falls and Conant Brook dams, provides flood protection for a heavily industrialized area of the city.
Construction began in October 1963 and was completed in July 1965, costing $2.6 million. Chicopee is responsible for operating and maintaining the project.
The project extends from the Deady Memorial Bridge to a point downstream of the former U.S. Rubber Company plant. It consists of two earthfill dikes, 740 and 2,880 feet long, respectively, that have a maximum height of 28 feet; two concrete floodwalls, 557 and 863 feet long, that have a maximum height of 39 feet; and pumping stations at Main Street and Oak Street. The project also involved widening, deepening, and straightening about 3,300 feet of the Chicopee River.