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  • Alaska Highway - Delta Junction AK
    The 1,300+ mile Alaska Highway was constructed in 1942 and opened in 1943.  It was built to provide an alternate supply line to Alaska during World War II, an idea the President Roosevelt had proposed to the Canadian government in 1936.  It runs through Canadian Territory but the cost was borne by the United States.   The Alaska Highway was a joint effort of the U.S. Army (Corps of Engineers) and the Public Roads Administration (PRA)—a sub-agency of the New Deal's Federal Works Agency that replaced the earlier Bureau of Public Roads.  The construction was carried out by a host of PRA-contracted...
  • Arkabutla Reservoir Project - Coldwater MS
    The Arkabutla Dam and reservoir project was the second of three projects for flood control management of the Yazoo-Tallahatchie-Coldwater river systems in Mississippi. The Army Corps of Engineers directed the $10,000,000 project. In order to construct the dam and reservoir, the town of Coldwater had to be relocated a mile further south. Approximately 700 residents were relocated at a cost of $250,000. The earthen dam is 11, 500 feet long, average of 67 feet high, and 482 feet wide at the base. Contracts were let to H. N. Rodgers & Son, Forcum-James, and Pioneer Contracting. Patton-Tully Transportation was awarded a...
  • Arkport Dam and Reservoir - Arkport NY
    Built 1938-39 under the Flood Control Act of 1936, following catastrophic local floods in 1935, and still in use. Federal cost was $1,910,000. C.C.C. built a camp nearby for the construction workers,
  • Ballona Creek Channel - Los Angeles CA
    The US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing this important Los Angeles urban waterway.  Much of the creek was "channelized", i.e.,  lined with concrete, as part of a massive flood-control project undertaken by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Los Angeles County Flood Control District following the great Los Angeles flood of 1938. Ballona Creek is short river in southwestern Los Angeles County that drains an area exending from the Santa Monica Mountains on the north, the Harbor Freeway (I-110) on the east, and the Baldwin Hills on the south. It flows through Culver City and...
  • Ballona Creek Channel: Culver Blvd. Bridge - Los Angeles CA
    The federal government in the form of the US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing the Ballona Creek waterway in Los Angeles, which helps drain the Los Angeles basin from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The section from the Pacific Ocean to Vista del Mar was started in 1938 and completed in 1939. The Vista del Mar to La Salle Ave section was started in 1935 and completed in 1936. The La Salle Ave. to Washington Blvd. section was started 1938 and completed 1939. The Washington Blvd. to Redondo Blvd. section was started in...
  • Ballona Creek Channel: Duquesne Ave. Bridge - Los Angeles CA
    The federal government in the form of the US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing the Ballona Creek waterway in Los Angeles, which helps drain the Los Angeles basin from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The section from the Pacific Ocean to Vista del Mar was started in 1938 and completed in 1939. The Vista del Mar to La Salle Ave section was started in 1935 and completed in 1936. The La Salle Ave. to Washington Blvd. section was started 1938 and completed 1939. The Washington Blvd. to Redondo Blvd. section was started in...
  • Ballona Creek Channel: Higuera St. Bridge - Los Angeles CA
    The federal government in the form of the US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing the Ballona Creek waterway in Los Angeles, which helps drain the Los Angeles basin from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The section from the Pacific Ocean to Vista del Mar was started in 1938 and completed in 1939. The Vista del Mar to La Salle Ave section was started in 1935 and completed in 1936. The La Salle Ave. to Washington Blvd. section was started 1938 and completed 1939. The Washington Blvd. to Redondo Blvd. section was started in...
  • Ballona Creek Channel: La Cienega Blvd. Bridge - Los Angeles CA
    The federal government in the form of the US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing the Ballona Creek waterway in Los Angeles, which helps drain the Los Angeles basin from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The section from the Pacific Ocean to Vista del Mar was started in 1938 and completed in 1939. The Vista del Mar to La Salle Ave section was started in 1935 and completed in 1936. The La Salle Ave. to Washington Blvd. section was started 1938 and completed 1939. The Washington Blvd. to Redondo Blvd. section was started in...
  • Ballona Creek Channel: Lincoln Blvd. Bridge - Los Angeles CA
    The federal government in the form of the US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing the Ballona Creek waterway in Los Angeles, which helps drain the Los Angeles basin from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The section from the Pacific Ocean to Vista del Mar was started in 1938 and completed in 1939. The Vista del Mar to La Salle Ave section was started in 1935 and completed in 1936. The La Salle Ave. to Washington Blvd. section was started 1938 and completed 1939. The Washington Blvd. to Redondo Blvd. section was started in...
  • Ballona Creek Channel: Overland Ave. Bridge - Los Angeles CA
    The federal government in the form of the US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing the Ballona Creek waterway in Los Angeles, which helps drain the Los Angeles basin from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The section from the Pacific Ocean to Vista del Mar was started in 1938 and completed in 1939. The Vista del Mar to La Salle Ave section was started in 1935 and completed in 1936. The La Salle Ave. to Washington Blvd. section was started 1938 and completed 1939. The Washington Blvd. to Redondo Blvd. section was started in...
  • Ballona Creek Channel: Washington Blvd. Bridge - Los Angeles CA
    The federal government in the form of the US Army Corps of Engineers played an instrumental role in developing the Ballona Creek waterway in Los Angeles, which helps drain the Los Angeles basin from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The section from the Pacific Ocean to Vista del Mar was started in 1938 and completed in 1939. The Vista del Mar to La Salle Ave section was started in 1935 and completed in 1936. The La Salle Ave. to Washington Blvd. section was started 1938 and completed 1939. The Washington Blvd. to Redondo Blvd. section was started in...
  • Bennington Local Protection Project - Bennington VT
    The Bennington Local Protection Project was undertaken by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), in Bennington, Vermont during the Great Depression. Later reconstruction projects were handled by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. "The Bennington Local Protection Project is located along the left bank of Roaring Branch, a tributary of the Walloomsac River, in Bennington. The project protects Bennington from damage caused by the floodwaters of Roaring Branch. The project, about one mile in length, begins about 1,000 feet upstream of the Brooklyn Bridge and ends on Park Street. It consists of: Three sections of concrete floodwall with stone slope protection...
  • Bluestone Dam - Hinton WV
    The Bluestone Dam began by an executive order of FDR in 1935 with work beginning in 1941 on the dam itself. The Bluestone Dam is constructed with concrete reinforced by steel rods. A unique feature of the dam was the first use of blowing air bubbles into the concrete to help protect from freeze damage. The same technique was used in later dams throughout the nation. In 1997, the Bluestone Dam was determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places for federal flood control program of the early to mid-twentieth century, its association to the New Deal programs. It...
  • Bonneville Dam - Bonneville OR
    Dams on the Columbia River for hydropower, navigation and irrigation had been eyed by Northwestern industrial, shipping and agricultural interests well before the New Deal.  The Army Corps of Engineers published a report in 1929 that recommended ten dams on the river and the Bureau of Reclamation also had plans for irrigation development upstream, called the Columbia Basin Project.  The Roosevelt Administration supported both agencies in their pursuits; with funds from the Public Works Administration (PWA) the two anchor dams, Bonneville and Grand Coulee, were begun in 1934. Bonneville lock and dam were built by the Army Corps of Engineers and completed...
  • Booker T. Washington State Park - Chattanooga TN
    Constructed with funds and labor from the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Booker T. Washington State Park was established in 1938 as a segregated recreational facility for African Americans, the second such facility in the state of Tennessee (the other being T. O. Fuller State Park near Memphis). The park is situated on Lake Chickamauga, which was created with the construction of the Chickamauga Dam by the Tennessee Valley Authority. The nearby Harrison Bay State Park was built at the same time for white Tennesseans. Tennessee parks were formally desegregated in 1964 with the passage of...
  • Bourne Bridge - Bourne MA
    The Bourne Bridge across the Cape Cod canal was built for the US Army Corps of Engineers, with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA). It was part of a very large project to improve the canal and add three bridges across it; the PWA allotment was $6,138,000 for the entire project.  (Short & Stanley-Brown 1939) The project began in 1933 and the bridge opened in 1935. The contractor was American Bridge Company of New York, New York and the engineering was done by Fay, Spofford, and Thorndike of Boston, Massachusetts (historicbridges.com) The Bourne Bridge won the American Institute of Steel Construction's Class "A" Award...
  • Buzzards Bay Railroad Bridge - Bourne MA
    The Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1933-35.  It was part of a much larger project that included widening the canal and three bridges across it, for which the PWA made a grant of $6,138,000. (Short & Stanley-Brown 1939) The bridge was designed by Parsons, Klapp, Brinckerhoff, and Douglas, along with Mead and White, for the Army Corps of Engineers, which operates all three bridges and the canal.   The main space is 544 feet long and has 135-foot clearance when raised (Wikipedia) At the time...
  • Cape Cod Canal Widening - Bourne MA
    The Cape Cod Canal is an artificial waterway traversing the narrow neck of land that joins Cape Cod to mainland Massachusetts. First constructed in the early 20th century, the canal was widened during the New Deal.  That work was part of a much larger project that included three new bridges across the canal (Short & Stanley-Brown 1939) The project was overseen by the US Army Corps of Engineers and funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA), circa 1933-35.  The Works Progress Administration (WPA) came in later to do work on the banks, the nature of which is not specified in the...
  • Central Valley Project - Northern California CA
    The Central Valley Project (CVP) was originally conceived of in the 19th century, but took shape as the "State Water Project" in 1919.  The federal government turned it down in the 1920s, after which it gained approval from the state legislature in 1933.  The Great Depression made it impossible for the state to sell the bonds to finance the system, however, so the federal government stepped back in. Initial financing was provided under the Emergency Appropriations Act of 1935 with the Army Corps of Engineers in charge, but control and construction passed to the US Bureau of Reclamation in water project legislation by Congress in 1937. The...
  • Charles C. Glover Memorial (Massachusetts Ave) Bridge - Washington DC
    The Massachusetts Avenue bridge was built in 1940-1941 by the Army Corps of Engineers with federal funds provided by Congress to the District of Columbia Commissioners.  It was a final step in the completion of the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway in the New Deal era.  The new bridge replace a low earth-fill causeway over the creek, built in 1901, and a tunnel under the causeway that impeded traffic on the new Rock Creek parkway.  Congress appropriated $360,000 for the bridge under the District of Columbia act of 1939.  Additional funding was added in 1941 to dynamite the old bridge and...
  • Chickamauga Dam - Chattanooga TN
    Chickamauga Dam is located on the Tennessee River in south-central Tennessee just east of downtown Chattanooga. Construction began in 1936 as a part of Tennessee Valley Authority’s area improvements and was completed in 1940. Before the dam’s construction, the city of Chattanooga often experienced major flooding. The dam provides hydroelectric power to the area and creates Chickamauga Lake, which is used for recreation and a wildlife reserve. Two segregated recreation areas- Booker T. Washington State Park and Harrison Bay State Park- were also created with the construction of the dam and lake. "When the Tennessee Valley Authority was formed in the...
  • Commercial Pier No. 5 (former) - Washington DC
    Commercial Pier No. 5 was part of a large-scale New Deal redevelopment program for the Washington Channel and Southwest Waterfront area. Construction of the pier began in 1940, by the Penker Construction Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, and was completed in 1941. The Army Corps of Engineers supervised the project and the total cost was about $270,000 (about $5 million in 2020 dollars). About 3,000 cypress and pine logs from Virginia were used to create the pier. Commercial Pier No. 5 permitted a greater exchange of goods in the nation’s capital, and was the result of “many years of agitation” from the business...
  • Conchas Lake State Park - Conchas NM
    "Conchas Dam is the oldest and one of the largest water projects of the US Army Corps of Engineers in New Mexico. Begun under the New Deal's Emergency Relief Act of 1935, the construction of the dam and associated facilities provided employment for nearly 2400 people. The WPA supported school teachers for the children of the work crews and after the dam was completed, the work camp provided housing for CCC crews building onsite recreational facilities. Today the headquarters building is still in use, and five other units provide housing for staff." -Treasures on New Mexico Trails The following quotes are all...
  • Crescenta Valley Flood Control - La Cañada Flintridge CA
    "Geographically, the Crescenta Valley extends eastward from the Los Angeles City communities of Sunland and Tujunga through a portion of the City of Glendale and the County territories of La Crescenta and Montrose to the incorporated city of La Cañada Flintridge... After the disastrous flood of 1934, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Los Angeles County Flood Control District embarked upon major construction of dams, channels, debris basins and continued efforts to control erosion."   (https://www.villageprofile.com) According to the Feb 1934 California Highway and Public Works magazine, "Several thousand C.W.A. relief workers were rushed to the flooded area to render aid to...
  • Crooked Creek Lake and Dam - Ford City PA
    Crooked Creek Lake and Dam were created as part of a multi-site flood control program to protect the city of Pittsburgh and Ohio Valley. Work on the project began in 1937 on Crooked Creek near its confluence with the Allegheny River. The earth dam was designed by Captain B.F. Chadwick of the Army Corps of Engineers and constructed by George M. Brewster and Son, Inc of Bogota, New Jersey. The project cost over $4 million and was completed in 1940. The Army Corps of Engineers estimates that the lake and dam have prevented over $713 million in flood damage since...
  • Dalecarlia Reservoir and Pumping Station Improvements - Washington DC
    In 1934, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers made repairs to the Dalecarlia Reservoir, the primary source of drinking water for Washington, DC. Work consisted of, “Reconstruction of two concrete spillways, replacing earth in embankments and a small dam, and cleaning silt deposits out of a water diversion channel” (Report of the Chief of Engineers, 1935). The Public Works Administration (PWA) supplied the $16,944 in funds for the project. The Corps of Engineers upgraded the Delacarlia Pumping Station, as well: “The construction of booster pumping station was continued, and at the end of the year was practically completed. Pumps, motors,...
  • Emporia Armory (former) - Emporia VA
    Emporia, Virginia's historic National Guard armory building was constructed with federal funds and labor. The building, presently owned by Greensville County, also served as a school gymnasium. It has housed operations for the local chapter of the Boys & Girls Club of America since the late 1990s. Local sources state that the armory was constructed in 1936 by the Army Corps of Engineers and was "built to last." According to a National Register of Historic Places registration form: "The Emporia Armory ... is located at the northernmost edge of the historic district. ... This building is 11 bays wide and is two...
  • Honolulu Harbor Improvements - Honolulu HI
    The Army Corps of Engineers, the Public Works Administration, and the National Industrial Recovery Administration funded and conducted improvement operations in the Honolulu Harbor between 1934 and 1935. The work consisted of the enlargement of the “entrance channel to 40 feet deep and 500 feet wide, easing the curve where the entrance channel joins the inner harbor; deepening the harbor basin to 35 feet, for a general width of 1,520 feet; dredging to 35 feet along the reserved channel, a channel 900 feet wide and 1000 feet long, and thence a channel along the northerly side of the reserve channel 400...
  • Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling: Naval Air Station (former) Improvements - Washington DC
    The present Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling is the site of the former Anacostia US Naval Air Station and the former Bolling Air Field, both founded in 1918.  Bolling Field was absorbed into the Naval Air Station in the 1940s and a new Bolling Air Force Base constructed just to the south in 1948.  Those facilities were merged again in 2010, and the joint base is currently home to several functions, including a naval facility, a large heliport and a Secret Service base.   From 1933 to 1942, New Deal agencies were busy at the two older facilities, making improvements of various kinds....
  • Kaunakakai Harbor - Molokai HI
    The Army Corps of Engineers, the Public Works Administration, and the National Industrial Recovery Administration funded and conducted improvement operations in the Kaunakakai Harbor on Molokai, between 1933 and 1934. The work consisted of the “dredging of a harbor basin about 1,500 feet long, 600 feet wide, and 23 feet deep at mean lower low water.” The estimated cost of the work in 1933 was $120,000. The estimated cost for annual maintenance was $5,000.
  • Lake Wappapello Dam - Wappapello MO
    Constructed in 1940 by the Army Corps of Engineers, this dam created the 45,000-acre Lake Wappapello reservoir on the St. Francis River. Constructed with the primary intention of flood control, Lake Wappapello continues to offer recreational opportunities including boating, fishing, and camping to the public.
  • London Locks and Dam - London WV
    The Public Works Administration funded construction work at the London Locks and Dam on the Kanawha River, approximately 25 miles south of Charleston. The project was authorized through the River and Harbor Act of 3 July 1930. The Cost of construction was $3,269,800. The locks became operative in September 1933 and were completed in May 1934. The locks contain two parallel lock chambers. The project is currently operated by the Army Corps of Engineers.
  • MacDill Air Force Base Infrastructure - Tampa FL
    The Army Corps of Engineers and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed site and infrastructure work at the MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa FL. Formerly known as Southeast Air Force Base, it was originally built to protect American interests in the Caribbean. It quickly was used to train pilots, maintenance personnel, and other technicians to support combat. Its current mission is refueling. The WPA completed initial site work after the land was acquired. "The WPA funds and labor were used to clear and grade the site, install drainage, build roads, erect fencing, lay railroad tracks, and install sanitary systems." (HABS No....
  • Mayagüez Harbor Improvements - Mayagüez PR
    The Army Corps of Engineers, with funds from the National Industrial Recovery Act, carried out improvements in the Mayagüez Harbor.
  • Mississippi River Lock and Dam No. 11 - Dubuque IA
    From the National Register of Historic Places nomination file: "The 114.24-acre Lock and Dam No. 11 Historic District is made up of a navigation lift lock, a nonnavigable dam, and 37 associated resources. Two general contractors and numerous subcontractors, all employing the maximum number of people possible for a relief work project, built most of the main features of this district between 1934 and 1937. Eagle Point Bridge was already in place when this work began."
  • Mississippi River: Levee Improvements - Greenville MS
    Mississippi utilized a number of federal work relief and infrastructure opportunities to repair, improve, and construct the levee system at various locations along the Mississippi River from Gunnison in Bolivar county south through Greenville in Washington county to Fitler in Issaquena county Agencies included Civil Works Administration, Works Progress Administration, and Army Corps of Engineers, expended a total of $227,634, employed at least 675 men, and were carried out between 1933 and 1940.
  • Petersburg Harbor Improvements - Petersburg AK
    "Location.— Petersburg Harbor is situated inside the northern entrance to Wrangell Narrows, on the northwesterly end of Mitkof Island, 779 miles northwesterly from Seattle, and 107 miles south westerly from Juneau. (SeeU.S.CoastandGeodeticSurvevChart No. 8170.) Existing project.— This provides for dredging suitable approaches with a depth of 24 feet to the existing wharves; a small boat basin 11 feet deep between the Trading Union Wharf and Citizens Wharf to a line substantially following the present mean lower low water line; and a short channel 40 feet wide and 8 feet deep to the south side of the Forestry Service float. All depths...
  • Port Allen Harbor - Eleele HI
    The Army Corps of Engineers, the Public Works Administration, and the National Industrial Recovery Administration funded and conducted improvement operations in the Port Allen Harbor between 1934 and 1935. The work consisted of creating a 1,200 foot “rubble-mound breakwater,” and dredging the “harbor basin about 1,000 feet wide, 1,500 feet long, and 35 feet deep; and an entrance channel 500 feet wide and 35 feet deep.” The estimated cost of the work in 1933 was $ 880,000 for new work, of which 200,000 was the contribution of local entities. The estimated cost for annual maintenance was $15,000. In October 1935, about $680,000 were...
  • Quoddy Village - Eastport ME
    A small town built for the purposes of housing the "clerks, engineers, draftsmen, technicians, and laborers building the Passamaquoddy Tidal Power Project, the world’s largest tidal dam. The site was originally the George Rice farm, on the Old Toll Bridge Road and Route 190."   (https://penobscotmarinemuseum.org) "The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Quoddy dam project began officially on July 4, 1935. It was estimated that 5,000 workers were needed for the project, and Eastport lacked housing. A model village, named Quoddy, was built three miles from the center of Eastport. It consisted of 128 single family, two-family, and four-family houses; three large...
  • Reagan National Airport - Arlington VA
    The first Washington DC airport was built during the New Deal.  Long known as National Airport, it was renamed for former President Ronald Reagan in 1998. Most locals still refer to it by its former name. Construction began in 1938, after "President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced at a press conference that he was 'tired of waiting for Congress' to select a site for the new airport and said that it would be built on mudflats on a bend of the Potomac River at Gravelly Point, 4 miles south of the District of Columbia." (Airport Authority website) Several federal agencies were involved in...
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