The Hoover Dam

The Hoover Dam is a commonly recognizable structure in the United States and throughout the
world. Although famous for its appearance, little is known about the actual benefits of the dam and how
it has helped not only the Southwestern US, but the entire world in general.

The Hoover Dam was originally proposed to stop the massive flooding of the Colorado River that
was ruining the fertile and ever growing agriculture of the area. The dam would be built to not only stop
the river from flooding but also it would provide irrigation to many farmers and other needs throughout
this part of the country. The dam would also play an even more vital role as it would serve as a power
plant to generate electricity for most of the Southwest.

The Hoover Dam, originally known as the Boulder Dam, was to be the largest ever built in the US
at the time. The dam was to be built in Boulder Canyon, hence the name of the dam, but was later
moved to Black canyon, where it resides today. The dam rises 750 feet above the river and at its base is
approximately 640 feet thick. The dam would incorporate a new type of engineering design as well. The
arch shape that was used in the dam had never been used before on a large scale project like this so the
dam set a precedent for this type of structure. This project was so large that not only one company
could manage the project. Instead, six companies were contracted to oversee the construction of the
dam. Appropriately named, “The Big Six”, the companies legally were called Six Companies, Inc., made
up of the following: Utah Construction; Pacific Bridge; H.J. Kaiser and W.A. Bechtel; MacDonald and
Kahn; Morrison-Knudsen; and J.H. Shea. The construction of the dam started in1931 and finished five
years later in 1936. This was two years ahead of schedule from the original plan. The dam cost just over
$48,000,000.00 to complete. In all, about 3.25 million cubic yards of concrete was poured in the
construction of the dam. That is enough to make a 16 foot highway from New York City to San Francisco.
The power plant portion of the dam houses 17 generators that are powered by the water that the dam
holds back. The dam provides power for much of the Southwest.

The dam played a significant role during WWII for the US. The power the dam generated
significantly helped America produce the necessary equipment and supplies to ultimately win the war. It
is said that the dam was America’s best kept secret during the war as the Germans were not aware of
the great power this dam could produce thus they believed America was not capable of manufacturing
supplies at such an efficient rate. The dam is also very important to the agriculture of the surrounding
areas. The dam created Lake Mead, a 158,000 acre lake that was created from the backed up water
behind the dam. This dam provides millions each year with recreation and what not. While the benefits
of the dam are numerous, a number of negative things have stemmed from the dams construction.

First off, there were a number of deaths during the construction of the dam. 112 people lost
their lives while working on the dam. The biggest impact from the dam is the environmental damper it
has caused. Due to the fact the natural flow of the river was altered, numerous species of marine and
wildlife have gone extinct or endangered due to the changing environmental conditions. For six years
after the dams completion, basically no water reached the delta of the river while Lake Mead filled up,
causing major issues for the surrounding areas.
 The Hoover Dam continues to be a great asset to America and will continue on for many years to
come.

http://www.romanconcrete.com/docs/hooverdam/hooverdam.htm
http://hooverdam.travelnevada.com/history.aspx
Magdeburg Canal Bridge

When we think of a bridge, we are almost certain we will be crossing over some sort of water or
other impassable object. What if the bridge you were on actually had water on it and you were crossing
over another river? The Germans did exactly this. The inspiration for the design came back as early as
the 1910’s but world wars and other conflicts within the country ruined the ideas. The idea was to
connect the Elbe-Havel Canal

The Elbe?Havel Canal is a 56 km long canal which carries traffic eastward to Magdeburg, Germany

from Brandenburg an der Havel. Since 2003, it has also been connected to the Midland Canal by the

unique Magdeburg Water Bridge....  and the Midland Canal. These canals are separated by the River

Elbe, just outside of Berlin in a town named Magdeburg. The construction of this structure was seen as a
unification of East and West Germany. The bridge was necessary as it connected two vital waterways in
the German economy. This bridge would ease congestion and increase efficiency within the canals. The
construction of this bridge would also drastically shorten the distance that vessels had to travel in order
to get from each canal to the other. Another reason the bridge would be useful is the River Elbe has had
level issues. Sometimes the water level in the river falls too low and traffic comes to a complete stand
still. The bridge could be regulated all of the time therefore the level would always be suffice. The need
for the bridge was apparent, therefore the go ahead was given for construction.

The design of this bridge was done by HRA Bochum, and the construction performed by Bilfinger
Berger AG and Dillinger Stahlbau GmbH. The main span of the bridge is 350 ft long, with a steel skeleton
frame supporting a concrete basin inside, which houses the water for navigation. The construction of
the structure began in 1998 and was completed in December of 2002. The structure is approximately
140 feet wide and the navigation channel width is approximately 105 feet. The channel is 14 feet deep
which will allow moderately sized vessels to pass through without problem. The entire structure,
including approach spans is 3012 feet long. The basin inside the structure is composed of 2.5 million
cubic feet of concrete. The structure allows vessels to carry loads up to 1500 tons (US) safely across the
bridge.

As for the structure itself, it can easily be seen the benefits that come from the construction.
There are however some negatives to the structure itself. The cost of the structure was approximately
$60,000,000. Some fear that the price tag is too high and that the structure was unnecessary. They
believe that a regular canal could have been built for less cost and it would have provided similar
benefits. This is not the only structure in the world like this but only time will tell if this investment will
pay off.
http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?id=s0010460
http://armchairtravelogue.blogspot.com/2009/09/magdeburg-water-bridge-worlds-largest.html