| Show government takes over boulder dam by WILLIAM C UTLEY ou are now part owner of VOU ro boulder ulder damo dam the sentinel of the colorado and the biggest contract construction job ever completed and turned over to the united states go government vern ment it was turned ever to the govern government ment ahl which ch is you just five years minus a few days since construction beg began gan march 11 1931 the ceremony or of presentation was indeed a simple one for the completion of a task so large and long on its participants were two big husky busky engineer ing in fellows who met at the dam near boulder bo ulder city nev ker take it its yours now said frank crowe construction superintendent ot of as another milestone in the history of the west worth found already in more than one instance the importance of ickes statements has been demonstrated already it was only a few months after the diversion diversi on tunnels were first closed that boulder dam asserted its supremacy over the most mos t danz proul river in america that was in february of 1035 when it caught and stored the waters of what wha t would have been a devastating flood during the summer of 1035 the dam worked the other way and a nd used some of the stored up flood waters to prevent a disastrous drouth in the irrigated valleys along the lower colorado with the water stored above the dam in mead AIR r J i A A A 9 X kr 4 14 r el 7 IM ry boulder city nev heres the latest air picture of the boulder dam since the completion of pouring at the top photograph taken from upstream angle the six companies inc the contractors on the job its a great dam ralph well you ought to know frank replied ralph lowry eli engineer incer of the united states reclamation service and that brief remark was uncle sams speech of acceptance boulder dam was completed two and one half years ahead of schedule it cost the government including both the dam itself and the power stations of this amount 54 will represent the gross earnings of the six companies inc after reductions have been made for services like the supplying of power to the contractor and rentals at boulder city the actual amount of money paid for the construction job will be about 52 other projects associated with boulder dam will cost approximately q when completed Is feet high the great mass of concrete towers feet from the bottom of the canyon making it about the same height as the eiffel tower in paris into the gl gigantic ad molds which shaped the great gate fal M w T 11 w wa former forme president herbert hoover for whom 1101 the dam was originally hamed oam that will aln hold nature prisoner in her own have hav wildest and most fearful lair air e of been poured cubic yards allete made aile from bar relt of cerneant this vast quantity of behn could have bult built a standard highway Illa abway 1 cross across the entire continent 8 tead ad f beet it has b built a great wall 1180 kald de feet thick at the base j 45 leet feet thick at the top the balled hai elsh finish of construction was ahrold by y secretary detary of t the be interior ingerl or iu L ickes in washington D C lake lahe which Is already the worlds largest artificial lake despite the fact that it is only one sixth full it was possible to release more water than the river carried last summer and fall in 1034 a drouth like that which was averted cost the valley there are five purposes in reality behind the construction of boulder dam the project will regulate flood water control silt irrigate the thirsty valleys create cheap electric power and provide a supply of water for the cities in the southwestern area which it serves it will be about six weeks before the power generated at the plant will be used the power plant which will be operated hy by the city of los angeles and the southern california edison company will eventually generate COW Idl kilowatt hours of energy every year the installed capacity will be horsepower which may be compared with the 5 horsepower which the united states generates at niagara falls it is expected that the city of los angeles will take over operation of the generating plant may 1 but it will probably be more than a year before all the power required by the ca city ty will be generated there about may 1 the southern nevada power company will beg begin in serving eb cheap cap boulder dam power to las vegas as and the adjoining territory I 1 in n nevada the company has contracted with the state of nevada for kilowatt hours per year at rates which will begin at 26 wills mills per kilowatt hour cost of making power the primary co cost st of gene generating ratin power at the dim dam is estimated at 10 wills mills per kilowatt hour and secondary power at 5 mill per kilowatt hour capacity is horsepower primary and horsepower secondary towers log feet high carry the electricity miles from the dam into california nevada and arizona the most expensive of the additional projects in con connection with the dam ic the aau which will bvm carry ic the aau Is drinking water to the city of los angeles the great duct when COID completed than miles long will be more and will cost an ambitious andert undertaking akin W it Is intended to care for the needs of water of the greatly increased populations which are expected and other southern angeles in los california cities in t the he future accepted the dam the government having now operates and maintains the reservoir the pressure well as it as tunnels the outlet works and perl pen stocks to t the he valves at the inlets to turbine cases in the po power plant the all been completed not the dam has I 1 really eally the at least but it is near nearly ly so work of the construction company Is done there still remains the work of plu plugging gang up one of the diversion tunnels but until the power plant Is placed in operation this tunnel elvill will be used to regulate irrigation water when the time is ri right lit the bureau of reclamation will have it plugged up by day laborers uncle sam cleans up in ordinary cases the construction company would remain on the jo job b to perform all the cleaning up opera operations t lon s and to remove all equi equipment ament no bolig longer needed but in this instance the bureau of reclamation has agreed to take over the work the bureau will occupy the administration buildings s of the six companies inc until october 1 to facilitate the installation of the equipment in the power house for nearly thirty years irrigation and hood flood control projects on the colorado river have been talked about in the circles of government in 1857 an army officer sent out to find end the head or of navigation of the colorado wrote it seems intended by nature that the Coi colorado orado river along the greater portion of its lone and majestic way shall be forever unvisited and unmolested and not until 1007 1907 was the first note of defiance to this attitude sounded by I 1 president i theodore roosevelt then in 1018 1918 arthur P davis a chiv civil engineer conceived the idea of building the worlds largest dam to stem the colorado herbert hoover as secretary of commerce in 1921 1021 created the colorado river commission on november 24 1022 the states of california nevada colorado new mexico wyoming and utah signed a compact A survey authorized by congress selected black canyon as the site two years later the bureau of reclamation recommended boulder canyon as a better site and this site was accepted in the boulder canyon act passed by both houses and signed by Pre president coolidge in 1028 1929 president hoovers hoover s proclamation lar la declared the act in effect in 1030 contracts to deliver water and provide electric power were signed signe d on september 17 of that year ray lyman wilbur secretary of the interior drove the first spike in t the he construction of a railroad to the dam site then and there giving the project the name hoover dam this name dame it bore in honor of the man who had had bad more to do with its realization than any other until the present secretary of the interior renamed re named it boulder dam on may 4 1933 1033 president dedicates dam construction contracts were awarded to the six companies inc in 1031 1931 and the actual work began on march 11 of that year diversion of the river was completed the following year and the first concrete placed in the dam in 1033 1933 funds were allotted to the th e project in 1934 to make possible its completion two years ahead of scheduled time the dam was completed and the storage of water begun last year A pleasant result incidental to the construction of the dam will be the opening up of a vast recreational and scenic wonderland along the waters of 1 1 17 V 3 P VIE rei N 4 I 1 fai R X p L harold L ickes secretary of t the e interior changed the name of th the dam M from hoover to boulder the artificial lake and the river above it the lake is excellent for fishing boating and swimming and added to the attraction of the dam for curiosity seekers are the presence nearby carby n of nf the grand zion and ana bryce canyons of nf the already visitors are arriving in considerable sid erable number the average Is about 1000 a day last years total was approximately and dam officials estimate that it will not be long before they increase to half a million a year the dam although in a far removed spot I 1 is s actually pretty easy of access to the tourist the highway from kingman ariz to las vegas nev which crosses it Is now DOW open several hours every day and will soon be open all the time this fine road may be reached easily from principal transcontinental and southern highways C western no newspaper union |
