The Centennial Celebration Of Theodore Roosevelt Dam

Floor Speech

* 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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