This morning we toured Hoover Dam. We got to the Visitor’s Center about 9:00 and were on the first tour at 9:30. We toured as much of the dam as is allowed; the power plant and the inspection tunnels. We stood above the inlet tubes for the generators and could feel the water rushing through. This is the water that propels the turbines that produce the electricity that pays for the dam. The dam was built beginning in 1930 and dedicated in 1937 by F.D. Roosevelt. It was dedicated as Boulder Dam and in 1847 it was renamed Hoover Dam. FDR did not like Hoover and didn't want the dam named after him. It was during Hoover's Presidency that the idea was started. The dam has 17 generators and produces four billion kilowatts of electricity. The dam is one of the top 10 construction achievements of the 20th century. 35 million people have toured the dam since it was opened to the public.
What has been particularly interesting to me is the by-pass bridge that they are building just south of the dam. I saw a TV program about the construction of the piers for the bridge and the engineering that had to go into its building. The bridge will be finished within the next year and, as you can see, they have most of the parts in place. They were setting one of the deck supports while we were there. When completed, the by-pass will take a lot of the traffic pressure off of the dam. I’m sure that security was also a consideration for building the bridge. Today they don’t allow trucks, buses, or motor homes across the dam.
As we left the visitor’s center the traffic driving to the dam was backed-up to Boulder City, four miles away. We said that we had made the right choice to get to the dam by 9:00. It's spring break.
Just a short distance from the dam, we stopped at the Visitor’s Center for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The dam has created the largest man-made lake in the US. The lake is the size of the state of Pennsylvania.
What has been particularly interesting to me is the by-pass bridge that they are building just south of the dam. I saw a TV program about the construction of the piers for the bridge and the engineering that had to go into its building. The bridge will be finished within the next year and, as you can see, they have most of the parts in place. They were setting one of the deck supports while we were there. When completed, the by-pass will take a lot of the traffic pressure off of the dam. I’m sure that security was also a consideration for building the bridge. Today they don’t allow trucks, buses, or motor homes across the dam.
As we left the visitor’s center the traffic driving to the dam was backed-up to Boulder City, four miles away. We said that we had made the right choice to get to the dam by 9:00. It's spring break.
Just a short distance from the dam, we stopped at the Visitor’s Center for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The dam has created the largest man-made lake in the US. The lake is the size of the state of Pennsylvania.
More later.
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