Labor Cost to Build Hoover Dam
The labor contract to build the Hoover Dam was huge in its day. Read Tim's August 4, 2015 AsktheBuilder Newsletter to see why this column came about.
This was back in the 1930's.
They started to build the dam in 1931 and it was completed more than two years ahead of schedule in 1936.
Are you sitting down?
The consortium of companies that built the dam didn't have to pay for the materials.
The Federal Government contracted separately to do that.
The contractors just had to supply the labor.
The labor contract was $57,000,000.
Today, in 2015, that would probably not even pay for the engineering studies, environmental study, etc.
Hells bells, you wouldn't even be allowed to build that dam today because you might kill a turtle.
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A hell of a lot more things get killed and displaced from building a dam the size of Hoover, than a few turtles. That was a really stupid statement Tim. You are an excellent builder and craftman and I, as an amature builder have great respect for your knowledge, but don't discount the impact development has on our shared planet. You'er in a position to know better because you see the work of developers up close so your input is important, but not if you don't understand the inter-relatedness of creatures in the eco-system.
Mary,
I knew my off-the-cuff remark would sizzle some. You see, it's a slippery slope. Have you ever swatted a fly or smashed a mosquito that was biting you? What about those creatures in our ecosystem?
We (man) are, at this point in time, the apex predator on the planet's face. That can change at any time. Being in that position, we pretty much can do what we want. But decisions have consequences.
For example, at one point in time, a group thought it was a good idea to kill all the passenger pigeons. Then we almost killed all the bald eagles.
I agree that we should not indiscriminately kill other things in the ecosystem, but we do it each day to survive.
The Hoover Dam was built to provide water to grow food for millions on acres of arid land out West. It also provides lots of electric power for people. The same is true for many of the other great dams on the Colorado River. So there was a greater good involved in this project.
Is it perfect? No.
Is it a good idea to dam a river? Geologists will tell you that the artificial lake behind a dam is just a temporary feature just like any lake that will eventually fill with sediment.
The bottom line is that if you've killed any insects or other animals to improve your quality of life, then the stone you threw at me is not your stone to cast.
What's the old saying in the Bible?
"Let he who hath not SINNED cast the first stone."
Well said Mr. Carter! The stones are cast when it is convenient for some... My motto, "Use what you need, waste as little as reasonable".
Cheers
Seems simple enough to this 'wanna-bee' engineer. Just place a drain at the dam's base with a shut-off valve. Open the valve periodically to flush the sediment. Helps to know nothing of the finer points of hydrology, but sometimes ignorant people can embarrass a craftsman like me.