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Former Rexburg man remembers uncle, who oversaw construction of the Teton Dam
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February 11, 2026
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21:25Now Playing#eastidahonews #tetondam50 #tetondam
IDAHO FALLS – Richard Robison was 13 when he saw the collapse of the Teton Dam about 15 miles northeast of Rexburg. His uncle, Robert Robison, oversaw its construction in the 1970s, and its failure affected him for the rest of his life. Fifty years later, Richard hopes to transform one of the worst civil engineering disasters in American history into a cornerstone of Idaho’s future.
Robert Robison was the last man on the crest of the dam at the moment of failure on June 5, 1976. As an employee for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Robert was involved in the construction of Willard Bay — the dam separating the fresh water from the salt water in the Great Salt Lake — more than a decade earlier. He’d worked on projects in Colorado and Nevada after that before moving to Rexburg in the early 1970s.
Richard, 63, lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, today, but grew up in Rexburg. He was about 9 years old when his uncle came to town to begin construction on the Teton Dam.
“I can still remember how exciting it was when dad told us Uncle Bob was moving to Rexburg,” Richard says.
WATCH OUR INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD IN THE VIDEO ABOVE.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
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