The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1923-04-17
CANYON
WORK At LAST
IS UNDER WAY
Preliminary Details Are
Completed and Con-
crete will Shortly Pour
Into Forms.

Emmett.-Within the next two
weeks actual construction work on
the million dollar diversion dam al
Black Canyon. seven miles northwest
of Emmett will be under way. Since
last summer the reclamation service
has been getting ready. There has
been a vast amount OF preliminary
work-the sounding OF the river bed
where the dam will be placed the
building OF wagon roads; railroad sid
ings, and a bridge across the river:
the construction of a by-path Tor div
crting the rivers flow, and Golfer
dam SO that construction OF the pow
er house may not be interferred w';h
during high water: the washing Di the
earth covering the bed rock foT the
wings OF the dam; the building OF the
trainvay towers and stretching NJ the
cables the piling up OF $4,000 yards u
gravel for use in the concrete wo-S
tyrs. and many more are p-actic-
ally completed. and the pIrring OF
,cntnt for the wings on he ro-th
side OF the river will be IN progress
inside OF two weeks and the great
walls that will lift the water OF the
river to a height of 900 feet above its
present level to make it possible to
irrigate many more thousand acres OF
Gem and Canyon county lands. will
begin to rise.
Next week the present force OF
workmen will be increased. and so
more laborers and II carpenters will
be hired Additions to the force will
be added continually as the work de
velopes. Three shifts will then be put
on, one working from 3 a. m. to noon
the second from p. m. to Q. aad the
third the balance OF the day. The
first two will be construction crews
and will work in daylight hours. The
third shift will load the bins with ce-
ment and gravel and do other chores
When the cement mixing pant Is
in operation. the gravel will be deliv-
cred by the donkey engine and dump
cars into bins. then passed over
screens OF three kinds of mesh. one
separates the sand and put in one bin
another nnts pea size into another BIN,
and the course gravel is put into a
third bin Exact measurments are
drawn from each bin and also from
the cement bin and dumped into the
mixer-all the machinery-then the
aerial iramway carries the mixture
wherever wanted. This VIII be an in
teresting operation and somewhat
spectacular.
\ water tank way up on the north
hillside has been erected and pipes
are being laid to it, through which wa
ter will be pumped and used 20 sprink
lie the concrete work to keep IT from
hardening too rapidly.
1t is expected the bridge over the
river will have to be taken ont when
the high water comes. but by that
time II will no longer be needed. In
its place a suspension bridge is be-
ing constructed near the site OF the
dam II will be wide enough for
horses and foot passengers.
In excavating for the northern end
OF the north wing. Engineer Ward
says they have encountered the un-
expected. Bedrock is not where it is
supposed to be. and the removal OF
the earth and boulders is a greater un-
deriaking than was figured on. The
composition is too soft for the mach
inc drills and too hard for the drag
line to handle. so the greater portion
OF it must be loosened by manual lsb
or. as the bedrock is much lower than
it is between that poins and the -iv-
er. it is impossible to wash the cover
ing off with the giant hydraulic For
the south wing however. the hydrarl-
ic will do all the work as the overlay
can all be washed into the river.
The wings will be laid in blocks OF
so feet. alternately. Then the alter
nate space will be filled in. The pro-
gram is 10 have the wings completed
by the first OF August and then put
in the dam proper