Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
If you choose not to take the tour, there are still ample points of interest, and
the views from the pedestrian sidewalks are always memorable, no matter how
many times you've seen the dam. Inside, displays open to the public pay tribute
to the thousands of workers, giving them a face and a name, while attesting to the
harsh times.
Obituary postings line another display, announcing some of the 96 deaths
during construction: “A falling jumbo yesterday crushed every spark of life from
the body of Victor K. Auchard, 25,” and “Peter Savoff, 44, powder man, plunged
to instant death this morning when he fell off the cliff,” among others.
In early 2000, another gigantic project began: Construction of the Hoover
Dam bypass bridge. Because the roads that wind above the dam simply aren't
equipped to handle the 14,000 vehicles now passing through daily, the Federal
Highway Administration began focusing on an alternative route. Slated to be
complete in 2008, the bridge is a massive effort and yet another engineering feat
by the states of Nevada and Arizona to complete a 3 1 2 -mile corridor that begins in
Nevada, bypasses the dam, and crosses over the Colorado River about 1,500 feet
downstream from the Dam. It ends in Mohave County, Arizona.
Hoover Dam Facts
u Hoover Dam is 726 feet tall and weighs 6.6 million tons.
u It holds 18 million pounds of steel and 840 miles of pipe.
u The concrete at the base of the dam is two football fields thick.
u Construction employed an average of 3,500 workers a day.
u There's enough concrete in the dam to pave a two-lane road 3,300
miles long (about the distance from San Francisco to New York City).
u 17 generators power the dam; each is taller than a seven-story build-
ing and contains 60 train-cars full of parts.
u The intake towers were built to look like torches as a symbol of the
energy the dam produces.
u Contrary to legend, there are no bodies buried within the dam. The
closest anyone ever came was a man who was covered by concrete
during construction. It took 16 hours to remove his dead body.
u The dam was completed in 5 years, 2 years ahead of schedule and
vastly under budget.
u By 1986 enough energy was sold to pay for the dam's construction
costs. Today, it continues to pay for itself and operates at no cost to
taxpayers.
u Fifty-six percent of the energy produced goes to southern California,
25% remains in southern Nevada, and 19% is used by Arizona. Las
Vegas receives only a small percentage of the dam's power because
when the water rights were allocated its population was only 5,000.
Re-allocation will occur in 2017.
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