Boulder Dam construction beginsIn 1930, construction began on the site infrastructure for construction of Boulder Dam (Hoover Dam). What had taken decades to come to a political resolution, took only five years more to become a reality. It took the labour of 21,000 men to produce what is now the second-highest dam in the country. The concrete gravity-arch dam on the Colorado River bewteen Nevada and Arizona, impounds Lake Mead, the largest U.S. reservioir. It generates electricity, supplies water to California cities and irrigation to support farming, as well as flood control. Bids for construction were opened on 11 Mar 1931, and awarded to Six Companies, Inc., for $48,890,995. On 6 Jun 1933, the first concrete was poured. It was dedicated on 30 Sep 1935, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.«[Image: postcard drawing showing construction.] |
