El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-01-22
By L. J. CHARLES, COZ sTRUCIION ENGINEER.

December 81. 1s1s-62,749 cubic yards
in place; 62,74s cubic yards placed dur
ing the year.
yards in place; SSO,5SO cubic yards
December 81, I915.-557, s2s cubic
yards in place; 1858 cubic yards
placed during the year.
Add to 557,922 cubic yards $500
cubic yards placed during 1872 and you
have the total in place December 81,
1915-5S3.222 cable yards.
As to the Size.
Ina CINE a dry goods box three feet
high, three feet long and three feet
wide. A box of this size would hold
one cubic yard. 1t would require
5S3. 222 such boxes TO crate up the ma
terial now in place in this dam II
these boxes were placed end TO end
along the Southern Pacific, starting at
the Union Depot in FL PasO, they would
extend 19 miles beyond Tucson, or 331
miles
The greatest progress was made dur
ing 1914 when three shifts worked con-
tinuously By March OF 1915 the top
Of the dam became so narrow that
three shifts could not be used to ad-
vantage and the force was cut from
1900 to 500 men on April 1st. There
were. construction reasons also that
limited the amount OF concrete that
could be placed during the hot weather.
The Great SpillWays
Space is too limited to cover all the
interesting features Of the work. The
galleries. gates, straining tower and
drainage chambers are all worthy OF
mention. Probably the spillWay will
be the most impressive structure aside
from the dam itself. The excavation
for the spillway was started in 1911,
but was dropped after being roughed
out and not taken up again until April
OF 1915. At the end of the year it is
practically completed The spillway is
the safety valve Of the dam, that au-
tomatically prevents the accumulation
of too much water in the reservoir.
The crest, or top, OF the spillway IS
placed at the high water line and sur
plus water can flow over this back
into the river below the dam
SpiIIway 300 Feet Long.
The spillway here is 900 feet long
on the overflow edge, or crest, and is
practically a solid mass of concrete
placed on the rocky backbone of the +,
mountain that the dam rests against |
at the west end.
This crest is spanned by five con-
crete arches that carry the wagon |
road from one side of the spillway to +!
the other. The spillway is provided !
with four 1O-foot gates, in addition to l
the u openings through the main dam I
and these viii handle the upper II 4
feet OF the reservoir when the lake is I
fun
Between the sill of these gates and |
the crest Of the spillway, 10000 acre !
feet OF water can be stored With the 1
lake once filled it is very probable that |
the gates in, the dam viii have to be !
opened and closed only al long inter- |
walls. which will add very materially TO /
their life
Dam Nearly Completed
At the end of 1915 this project was I
"a u percent completed and all the i
items given are complete except the I
spillway and the top of the main dam. 1
Preparations are under way to dis I
mantle the portions OF the plant that
have served their usefulness. a road
is being constructed that will connect 9
the top OF the dam with the main road /
and when the dedication takes place
next September everything will be
in detail. slopes dressed,
plants gone. and II viii be possible TO
drive across the Rio Grande on the
Canine Real over the most expensive
1900 feet Of roadway west Of the Mis-