Taming the Colorado River: Hoover Dam and the Dam Bridge
Posted on March 28,2018 By John Compisi
Taming the Colorado River: Hoover Dam and the Dam Bridge
Located just 30 minutes southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada and spanning the Colorado River along the Arizona and Nevada State borders, the Hoover Dam, remains one of the engineering marvels of the world. Conceived in the early 1900s and approved by the United States Congress in 1928, the project took less than five years to construct (begun in 1931 and dedicated by President Franklin Roosevelt in September 1936) during the Great Depression. It is truly a testament to American ingenuity, resourcefulness and creativity.
The Power Houses below and the Memorial Bridge over the Colorado (L.Compisi)
The Colorado River ran wild during rainy periods causing devastation and human suffering along its uncontrollable banks across numerous states and Mexico. During dry periods the farms and orchards in these same states would fail and lead to other forms of tragedy. The Hoover Dam changed all of that and provided valuable benefits for millions of Americans.
Aerial view Hoover Dam (Courtesy Wikipedia)
Unlike so many public construction projects (think California’s High Speed Rail Project and Boston’s Big Dig), Hoover Dam was completed 2 years ahead of schedule by a six company consortium called Company Six. It was an amazing example of a successful public-private partnership.
Lake Mead was created by damming the Colorado River (L.Compisi)
Many of the techniques used in building this Dam (like piping cold water through the massive amounts of concrete walls to help it dry faster) had never been used before and certainly not in a project this massive. Many pieces of equipment had to be manufactured on site because there were no roads or vehicles heavy enough to transport it there.
Dizzying view down 726 feet of concrete (L.Compisi)
Cars and pedestrians cross from Nevada to Arizona (L.Compisi)
Thousands of Depression Era workers flocked to this area in southern Nevada to find work which over 5,000 did and over 100 died in accidents during the project. An entire city, later named Boulder City, was created nearby out of nothing to house and sustain the labor force. The Dam quickly paid for itself and remains self-sustaining through the sale of hydroelectricity generated as the impounded water from Lake Mead, created as a result of the Dam, is released and spins the 19 massive turbines located near the bottom of the 726-foot-high Dam. The electricity generated is sold to public and private utilities in Nevada, Arizona, and California.
Photo taken from the Arizona side showing the Lake Mead side (L.Compisi)
Two of four intake towers plunging deep into Lake Mead (L.Compisi)
It is a mere 45 feet wide at the top and 660 feet thick at the base. Originally known as Boulder Dam, it was renamed the Hoover Dam by a joint resolution of Congress in 1947 in recognition of President Herbert Hoover’s (1929 – 1933) support of the project while President.
This intake tower sports Arizona Time, another Nevada Time (L.Compisi)
It was a thrill to walk the 1,244-foot length of the Dam from the Nevada side to the Arizona side. Looking down its 726-foot concrete surface to the Colorado River below created a real sense of vertigo as well as awe. You can also drive across the dam, in fact, until the amazingly beautiful Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge was opened in 2010, U.S 93 ran on the Dam. The Memorial Bridge, itself a wonder at 900 feet above the Colorado River, is the second highest bridge (the Royal Gorge Bridge is first) in the United States and the world’s highest concrete arch bridge. There is also a pedestrian walkway along the Memorial bridge.
The Dam is Art-Deco and the bathrooms are stylized in brass to match (L.Compisi
The Visitor’s Center ($10 per person entry) offers a short film with unbelievable and fascinating original news footage of the construction of the Dam. Of course, there are interactive exhibits and a gift shop as well. There were no tours of the actual inner workings of the Dam while we were there but per the Bureau of Reclamation website on March 27th, 2018 all dam and powerplant tours were back in normal operation as of March 24th 2018. Recommend checking the website in advance.
A slightly different view of the beautiful 900 foot high Memorial Bridge (L.Compisi)
Nearly 1 million tourists from all over the world visit the Dam annually. The Dam is a National Historic Landmark and has been rated by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of America’s Seven Modern Civil Engineering Wonders.