Hoover Dam: symbol of America's engineering triumph in Art Deco style

To implement such a large-scale project, a narrow section was selected in the lower reaches of the Colorado River under the name Black Canyon. The dam itself was originally designed in the traditional version of industrial facilities of that time. But a simple architectural solution did not fit into the grandiose purpose of the whole structure, and the primary version was changed. As a result, the Hoover Dam acquired an appropriate architectural appearance in the Art Deco style.

The dam itself has an arched-gravity design that provides it with special stability compared to other options. The arched structure allows you to significantly redistribute the load that the reservoir waters exert. In this case, part of the load is taken by the bearing walls, in the role of which canyon rocks act for the Hoover Dam.

Before construction began, extensive preparatory work was carried out. The waters of the Colorado River were redirected to the side with the help of four tunnels, and in order to prevent the construction site from contacting the water, it was fenced with special dams.

The construction began in 1931. It was a grand construction, especially when you consider that the country was going through the period of the Great Depression. More than 5,000 people were simultaneously employed in the construction of the dam, and 96 workers were killed under different circumstances during the construction.

The dam itself was made of concrete. To extract such a grandiose amount of building materials, quarries were developed in the dam area, and two concrete plants were built nearby. In order for concrete to solidify faster in the hot desert climate, unique technologies were applied. The dam body was filled not with monolithic blocks, but with trapezoidal columns, which increased evaporation and somewhat accelerated the cooling process of concrete. Although, according to experts, the hardening of concrete from which the dam body is made has not been completed to this day.

After the construction of the dam, the Colorado River formed a grand reservoir - the artificial Lake Mead.

It is interesting that until 2010, the dam also had a transport function: highway 93 runs along it. But for safety reasons, it was decided to limit the access of cars to the dam, and in 2010 a bridge with a very long name was put into operation: Mike Memorial Bridge O ' Callaghan - Pat Tillman. This grandiose building is in no way inferior to its famous neighbor. This bridge is the first composite arched reinforced concrete bridge built in the United States. Its construction was carried out simultaneously from two sides and in compliance with all environmental standards. Interestingly, the workers even stopped the construction in order to let the mountain goats go, who had to cross the other side.