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… read more
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,… read more
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,
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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…. read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
“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… read more
“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…… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
The Army Corps of Engineers, with funds from the National Industrial Recovery Act, carried out improvements in the Mayagüez Harbor.
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… read more
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… read more
“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… read more
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… read more
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… read more
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,… read more
The Sagamore Bridge across the Cape Cod Canal was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA). It was part of a much larger project that included widening the canal and three… read more