Show Str Strawberry Project is Big Unde Undertaking aking The Scientific Am American rican under un der date of March tarch 29 has an nn inters interesting story f c of t the build build- in ing- ing of the Strawberry dam and tunnel part of is reproduced reproduced below helow The Strawberry valley irli irrigation irrigation a. a tion project ct bein being being- r carried out ont by the Un United States I Reclamation tiO tion l service i is in many respects one of the most remarkable pieces of engineering in the world Building a 8 mile four-mile tunnel through a 1 range of mountains and picking a river from one valley alley and making nuking it flow through this tunnel into another val valley ey is an au undertaking ing in greater than diverting diverting- the waters of the mighty r river cr Chagres res in the construction tinn of the Panama canal But Hut that is precisely what has hm been done The rug rugged d range of of snowcapped snowcapped snow snow- capped mountains imposed a seemingly impassable barrier and to t di divert rt the flow of the till river riser river into the thirsty all valley y was the gigantic problem i soh solved ed cd by hy the cons construction of the tunnel a hu huge c bore nine by h ten and anti a n half f feet ct and approaching approaching approaching ap ap- ap- ap four miles in length This tunnel has hns' just be been n completed completed com com- and when the sparkling waters rush through it h down the he sleeping valley alley a n literal transformation tr in the physical geography of the state of Utah will ha have been 11 accomplished With one me exception n this un- un waterway tunnel is the largest in the world Many luny hard lard engineer in ngin erin problems had hado to o he be overcome in planning it and ond great g endurance was required of the men who carried out the work Fork The tunnel tun- tun lel nel nel pierces the solid rock of I I one of the highl highest st peaks of the range e and diverts the water wafer from one olle drainage basin to another forty five vt miles away away away The rile country where the the work is being done is is of a sort to add to the For five months a year the construction construction construe tion camp i is cut off ff from the rest of the thc world on ael amount account of the heavy ha snowfall However Io notwithstanding all the difficulties difficulties difficulties a n remarkable record of f economical as well as rapid construction was made on the I tunnel In a single year more than feet were driven and und lined with cement Before con construction on str on the pr project could cou lb in thousands of e e I mile n of valley and rough m I t tain ii country v rc surveyed cI and anti mapped and the tunnel and und canal lines mark marked d out A tel ephone line Hue some forty miles s long extending from Spanish Foik Fork to to both portals of the tunnel tunnel tun tun- nel pel was was was' constructed t as was also n ii wn wagon road oad of th the same sam distance distante Down in jn the thc foothills a n diversion dam clam was thrown across s Spanish Fork river dyer and andt t the lt waters turned in into to a power power powei I canal three and a lu half lf miles long wh which h dropped d them then through h huge pipes on the big turbines turbines ICO feet below elow Power Powe thus generated was de electrically to the tunnel site where it if was uSI used d to turn the diamond drills light the lamps and Ind run the hen heavy machinery Tin Tilt camps are located a mile niile and a h half f above the level o othe of the sea and the work is carried on d day y and night in three shifts Beyond the tunnel in the shadow of the thc granite peaks a great at reservoir is being con con- A retain retaining ng dam 71 1 feet high and feet jn n length of of rock cement steel is bu kt mg ug built for the thc impounding 1 the waters of Strawberry Stra herrY rive ri ct and for for the p purpose of di hat in jug ing them through th the t tunnel into canal carinI systems leading to I the rid lands of the vaHe valley Th The reservoir formed by this big hig dam m will have a cup dily of oi Feet acre or r sufficient to cover er that man many man acres neres' neres a u foot deep The rhe progress of this work hn has hap hc been n full of dramatic and thrilling thrilling thrilling thrill thrill- ing incidents The excavation of the tunnel required the constant con con- constant constant con con- stant vigilance of the engineers and ind the utmost precaution to t disasters Subterranean pr prevent an lakes and springs were op opened by the dynamite blasts and nud the inrush of water frequently frequently fre fre- drove dro th the workers pr precipitately pre from the tunnel ins Cave threatened threaten d injury or oreath death eath so 80 that the concrete linin lining lining lin lin- in ing had to follow closely the drills Notwithstanding all the difficulties confronted the Re Re- Reclamation Reclamation Redan dan ion service is id completing its work in record H time |