Hoover Dam
The Hoover Dam, built over sixty years ago, still stands today as one of the world's most outstanding engineering achievements. It has successfully tamed the wild Colorado River by spanning from the Nevada wall to the Arizona wall. As soon as approval was given to begin work on the Boulder Canyon project, people across America knew that completion of the Hoover Dam would be a milestone in construction history. The Hoover Dam has greatly influenced the construction industry today. Innovative ideas were required for construction at the Boulder Canyon project; from a small city being built for workers, to the way multiple contractors managed the project. Construction of the Hoover Dam set new standards for the building world in numerous ways, so it is no wonder why it is still considered an amazing achievement. Construction of the Hoover Dam was the first step in controlling the powerful Colorado River. Before the Hoover Dam, the river would flood every spring and dry up in the fall (Doherty, 1995). The only way to maintain the river's level would be to build a dam greater than any built prior in history, so in 1930, that is what congress and senate planned to do. At the time of the dam's com
Digging the tunnels was one of the most dangerous aspects of the entire Hoover Dam project. Six Companies had a fast approaching deadline to get the river diverted, and if they missed the deadline, they would have to pay liquidated damages of $3,000 each day past the deadline. The length of each of the four tunnels combined would be greater than three miles, and each would have a diameter of 56 feet without the concrete. Their diameters would be 50 feet when including the concrete that was applied in order to reinforce the rock walls and allow the water to flow easily through the tunnels (U.S. Bur. of Reclamation, 1971). United States Department of the Interior. Story of Hoover Dam. Internet. The first bucket of concrete was poured at the base of Hoover Dam on June 6, 1933. Pouring, however, posed a great problem because of the large volume of concrete needed, over 4.4 million cubic yards. Besides placing the concrete creating a problem, finding a quarry that was near the project also caused some worry. Eventually though, an alluvial lens just over six miles upstream on the Arizona side of the river was chosen as the source. Steam shovels and bulldozers also aided in increased productivity rates. Using machines within the tunnels was risky though because of the trapped carbon dioxide and rising heat. Temperatures inside the tunnels often rose to over 135 degrees Fahrenheit, and within one month during the summer, 14 workers died from heat exhaustion. Although there were downfalls to using machines in the tunnels, they did allow for up to 250 feet of tunnel to be dug per day. United States Department of the Interior. Story of Hoover Dam. Bureau of Reclamation Publishing. Washington D.C., 1971. Special equipment was needed in both fabricating and transporting the finished pipe to the dam. Trailers and 60-horsepower crawler tractors moved the heavier pipe from the plant to the rim of the canyon. From the rim of the canyon, the pipe was lowered by a 150-ton cableway system. This process was much faster and more realistic than shipping pre-fabricated pieces of steel.
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Approximate Word count = 2895
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)
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