[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 37 (Friday, March 11, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E466]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT DAM

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                           HON. PAUL A. GOSAR

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 11, 2011

  Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Theodore 
Roosevelt Dam, an engineering marvel that is celebrating its centennial 
of service to the people of Arizona, including a majority of 
constituents in my own District.
  When Federal engineers built Roosevelt Dam on the Salt River in the 
beginning of the 20th Century, they did not have the conveniences of a 
nearby town, an existing power supply or a locally skilled labor force. 
Several engineering feats needed to be accomplished even before 
construction could begin at the site 80 miles east of Phoenix.
   A road was cut into the sides of mountains so supplies could be 
hauled from the Phoenix area to the dam site. Members of local Apache 
tribes helped build the road, and they continued with the construction 
effort for the dam. Federal engineers also constructed a 20-mile canal 
to develop hydroelectric power at the dam to power a cement mill, 
aerial trams and cableways, and other equipment.
   Stone masons cut massive blocks from the sides of the canyon. Cranes 
were used to lower the stones, some weighing as much as 10 tons, to the 
riverbed. They were laid in a stair-step fashion, which gave the dam a 
distinctive appearance.
   Federal engineers ensured the strength of the dam by requiring the 
mortar joints on the upstream face not to exceed 1 inch in width. 
Following the laying of the cornerstone in 1906, crews worked nearly 
nonstop, with strings of electric lights suspended above the site 
allowing men to work through the night. Five years later, Roosevelt Dam 
had risen 280 feet high, with a base 184 feet thick that narrowed to 16 
feet at the top. On the day of its dedication on March 18, 1911, it was 
the largest rubble-masonry thick-arch dam in the world.
   Due to its engineering and construction excellence, Roosevelt Dam 
stood nearly unchanged for more than 80 years. In the 1990s, a new 
generation of engineers needed to address dam safety, regulatory water 
storage and flood control in central Arizona. During this construction 
effort, the entire face of the dam was overlain with concrete, ranging 
in thickness from 10 to 50 feet. The concrete extended upward to create 
a new crest and spillways were constructed deeper and narrower, 
allowing for greater water releases during floods. Renovations used 
nearly 450,000 cubic yards of cement, enough to pave a two-lane road 
between Phoenix and Tucson. The additional 77 feet of height 
effectively doubled the capacity of the reservoir, enhancing its role 
in managing water supplies for the growing greater Phoenix metropolitan 
area.
   Mr. Speaker, as Roosevelt Dam embarks on its second century of 
service, it deserves special recognition for its engineering marvel and 
being an economic engine for central Arizona.

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