El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-11-06
RAPID PROGRESS
IS MADE At DAM
Seventy-five Percent of Big
Structure Hos Been
Completed to Date.

rass during the month was so con-
/ sistent as to almost become monoto-
! mons It was hoped that former rec
ords for masonry work would pc DIO-
! -, INF on account of lack Of space
! t7o quantity placed was practically the
/ same nc during the preceding month.
Rased on expenditures the dam as a
whole. including all auxiliary FEATURES
is rs percent completed hi, --,.5.
During the month $4,000 cubic yarus
! of masonry was placed, making to-
tai to date of $4,000 cubic yards. rms I'M
was distributed over seven BLOCKS me
winter block was raised ABOUT 20 1eet,
! preparatory to closing the hume next
month. The concrete at west aDu I me ~
was brought up to elevation 4Z6O, or 90
fent above the river bed. Within a
few davs this block will have been
carried sufficiently far into the aDuI-
ment to permit of starting announcer eA-
mansion Joint. which viii give anotner
block to work on.
Work Is Delayed.
Considerable delay in masonry work
has been experienced on account Oh
the non arrival of certain gate cast
ings. The erection Of the gates, waves
and conduits has, however, proceeded
very satisfactorily. There are now III
place IL of the 16 valves and gates
that are to control the flow OF the wa
ter through the dam. -Four of the cast
ines. portions of the balanced valves,
weigh over $4,000 pounds each, puI
with the excellent facilities Tor nand-
ling materials at the DAM no dittcuIty
was experienced in setting them.
Excavation has continued with one
gang three shifts, working at first one
abutment then the other. This is nee
essarv to keep work ahead for the ma
sonrv crews. Excavation is in progress
now to within $50 feet OF the tai low
ers. Considerable work was done III
lot ion l.
forced concrete apron. that Is 10 eA-
tend rs feet from the downstream face
of the dam Immediately beneath the
outlet pipes. to prevent securing at the
toe OF the dam by the heavy streams
of water that will discharge through It
The total excavation for the month
was $500 cubic yards, making a total
to date of 3S2, 600 cubic yards.
Big Blast Is Made.
The quarries continue to furnish an
abundance of excellent rock. A large
blast was made in quarry No. early
in the month, which was the most sue
cessful of any made yet. Four orlu
holes having an average depth of $50
feet were loaded with $4,000 pounds OF
black powder and $500 pounds of dyn-
amite and shot together, loosenlng w.
600 cubic yards of rock Quarry No. 1,
the first one opened, is beginning to
play out. but No. 5, the quarry between
the office and the dam, has reached
development that will enable more der
ricks to be used there and will eventu-
ally take the place of No. 1.
The sand cement plant was oper-
ated two or three shifts daily, which
ever the cement requirements demand
ed. The best days output was 1850
barrels. During the month $4,000 bar
rels of sand cement was produced,
making a total to date Of $4,000 bar
rels. .------
The construction Of the relocated
portion of the road to Engle. made
necessary by the proposed flooding of
a portion of the present road when wa
ter is being stored, was started the
first Of the month and is progressing
satisfactorily. It is expected to have
this road completed by the end Of the
year.
Work on the embankment was COM
menced the middle Of the month with a
small crew. A camp has been estab-
Hshed, water and electric lines built,
construction roads built, the dam site
partly eXcavated and quarry
opened. It Is not intended to push this
feature to any extent until the latter
part Of next month, as the equipment
will not be ready prior to that time.
There are now employed about 1880
men, which is the largest number since
the work started. Labor conditions
are excellent The weather has been
very favorable for construction work,
not a shift being lost during the
month.
From sand storage $500 cubic yards
of sand was used at the mixing plant.
The quarries furnished 1900 cubic
yards Of crusher rock, $500 cubic yards
Of plume, 1900 cubic yards of rock for
the sand cement plant, and 1900 cubic
yards of waste, making a total for
quarry excavation of 23,70O cubic yards