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34-623: The dam was designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2016, and is operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation . In 1910, the Reclamation Service began to consider another storage facility farther east on the Boise River . After several surveys, engineers decided upon the Arrowrock site which had previously been the site of

68-520: A 60-ton locomotive and several new passenger cars. For almost five years, the train ran faithfully through the canyon, delivering over 89,500 visitors and crewmen. Also, during its commission, the Boise & Arrowrock traveled more than 110,000 miles (180,000 km) and carried 14,000,000 tons of freight. On October 4, 1915, the Arrowrock Dam was finally dedicated. As stated above, it was the tallest dam in

102-430: A private irrigation venture under the direction of Arthur De Wint Foote yet failed for lack of funding. The Arrowrock site is at the confluence of the main channel and the south fork. That was to be the most ambitious project to date for Reclamation. At 348 feet (106 m), Arrowrock would be the largest concrete arch dam in the world. Prior to construction, considerable preparatory work would need to be completed. As

136-675: Is 3.49 cents per kilowatt-hour; the BPA generated $ 4.72 billion in operating revenue in 2022. BPA now markets the electricity from thirty-one federal hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River and its tributaries, as well as from the Columbia Generating Station , a nuclear plant located on the Hanford Site in eastern Washington. BPA has more than 15,000 circuit miles (24,140 circuit km) of electrical lines and 261 substations in

170-660: Is an American federal agency operating in the Pacific Northwest . BPA was created by an act of Congress in 1937 to market electric power from the Bonneville Dam located on the Columbia River and to construct facilities necessary to transmit that power. Congress has since designated Bonneville to be the marketing agent for power from all of the federally owned hydroelectric projects in the Pacific Northwest. Bonneville

204-479: Is one of four regional Federal power marketing agencies within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The power generated on BPA's grid is sold to public utilities, private utilities, and industry on the grid. The excess is sold to other grids in Canada , California and other regions. Because BPA is a public entity, it does not make a profit on power sales or from providing transmission services. BPA also coordinates with

238-519: Is the designated marketer for 31 hydroelectric dams and the Columbia Generating Station a nuclear power plant at the Hanford Site . The dams are owned and operated by either the Army Corps of Engineers (21 dams) or the Bureau of Reclamation (10 dams), and have a maximum combined capacity of 22 GW. The Bonneville Project, named for the then-new Bonneville Dam , was established by an act of Congress that

272-946: The Celilo Converter Station near The Dalles, Oregon to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) grid 800 miles (1,300 km) away at the Sylmar Converter Station in Los Angeles . The Northern Intertie crosses the Canada–US border in two locations at Blaine, Washington and Nelway, British Columbia and connects to two BC Hydro AC 500 kV lines and several lower voltage lines. Because BPA owns and operates transmission equipment and locations, its workers perform its own vegetation management . BPA uses helicopters to sling load maintenance workers inspecting and repairing power lines. The BPA

306-457: The Pacific Northwest and controls approximately 75 percent of the high-voltage (230 kV and higher) transmission capacity in the region. 87 percent of the agency's sustained peak capacity (11,680 MW) is generated from hydroelectricity. BPA also maintains connection lines with other power grids . It connects to the California high-voltage transmission system by Path 66 , which consists of

340-615: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to regulate flow of water in the Columbia River and to carry out environmental projects such as salmon restoration. Although BPA is part of the DOE, it is self-funded and covers its costs by selling its products and services at cost. The BPA provides about 28% of the electricity used in the region. BPA transmits and sells wholesale electricity in eight western states: Washington , Oregon , Idaho , Montana , Wyoming , Utah , Nevada , and California . Its minimum wholesale rate

374-800: The BPA Library discovered a collection of old films made by the agency and began posting digital versions of them on the agency's website. Included in the collection is the award-winning documentary "River of Power" which covers the Agency's history from its beginning to the present. The BPA gives its name to the BPA Trail in Federal Way , Washington , a walking trail built beneath power transmission lines. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from BPA Fast Facts - Fiscal Year 2006 (PDF) . United States Government . Archived from

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408-512: The Bonneville Power Act's anti-monopoly clause. The cheap price of aluminum from Alcoa helped aluminum sales grow in the post- World War II market. Overly optimistic estimates of future electricity consumption by BPA in the 1960s led the agency to guarantee some bonds for the disastrous Washington Public Power Supply System nuclear power project. Out of five nuclear power plants started ( WNP-1 and WNP-4 , WNP-3 and WNP-5 ), only WNP-2

442-607: The Pacific Northwest. The agency's name was changed to the Bonneville Power Administration in 1940. Attempts to replace the BPA with a Columbia Valley Authority that more closely resembled the TVA were made in the 1940s and 1950s, but were ultimately unsuccessful. BPA's first industrial sale was to Alcoa in January 1940, to provide 32,500 kilowatts of power. This, and the following 162,500 kilowatt order, led to complaints of

476-468: The dam five feet (1.5 m), increasing its capacity by 9,000 acre-feet (11,100,000 m), and replaced deteriorating concrete on the dam's downstream face and spillway channel. From 2001 to 2004, ten aging Ensign valves were removed and replaced with clamshell gates. By 2011, work was completed to permanently plug all five sluice gate outlets. A 15-MW powerplant was added to Arrowrock Dam in March 2010, and

510-517: The dam had been approved, Reclamation began work on the rail line. Some significant problems existed with construction of the railroad. The Barberton Lumber Company owned the road's right-of-way. That meant that the Reclamation Service needed to come to an agreement over ownership of the rail line. In an unprecedented move, the government agreed to lease the track from Barberton but run the actual locomotive. Part of this agreement stipulated that

544-474: The dams strength. It is 225 feet (69 m) thick at the base and 15 feet (4.6 m) thick at the crest. It is serviced by 25 outlets some of which are designed to regulate themselves, another first in engineering. Ten outlets were built for an eventual power plant, but they have yet to be used. In total, the dam contains 585,160 cubic yards (447,390 m) of concrete and the reservoir holds over 286,000 acre-feet (353,000,000 m) of irrigation water. Within

578-407: The dormitory style bunkhouses at $ 1.25 a month or a private room at $ 4.00. Seventy-five cents was deducted each day for meals and $ 1.00 a month went towards hospital costs. The work proved moderately dangerous and accounted for numerous injuries and twelve deaths. However, despite the hazards and reduction in pay, it appears there was a unique level of camaraderie at the Arrowrock site. As stated above,

612-587: The first in the world to be built with a vertical shaft design. Along with the power lines, government workers hung a two-way phone cable to connect Arrowrock with the outside world. In 1976, the power plant was added to the National Register of Historic Places . After being refurbished by the Bonneville Power Administration in 2002, it is now on ready reserve status and occasionally provides surplus power during times of peak demand. Special care

646-411: The first week of operation, an estimated 12,000 visitors braved the canyon ride to see the dam. However, as interest waned, the Arrowrock & Boise Railroad schedule dropped significantly. The campsite, once a bustling hive of activity, was quickly becoming a ghost town . On August 11, 1916, the government decommissioned its very first public carrier. From 1935 to 1937, construction at Arrowrock raised

680-519: The line would remain a common carrier. That made the Arrowrock & Boise Railroad the first publicly owned line in the nation. The Service hid this fact from President William Howard Taft when it applied for the Arrowrock Dam's approval. Fortunately for Reclamation, Taft failed to recognize the loophole and in June 1910, the entire project went forward. However, when the Oregon Shortline refused to honor

714-517: The pact between Barberton and Reclamation, the Arrowrock & Boise terminal was reduced to a field just outside the Barber lumberyard. On August 22, 1910, the entire deal was finalized and work began on the line to the Arrowrock site. Salt Lake City 's Manly Brothers won the contract for grading the Arrowrock & Boise road in May 1911. The government called for force account to lay the track from Barber to

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748-724: The rest of the world ( International Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks ). As of 2019, there are over 280 landmarks that have been approved by the ASCE Board of Direction. Sections or chapters of the American Society of Civil Engineers may also designate state or local landmarks within their areas; those landmarks are not listed here. 34°10′29″N 117°52′52″W  /  34.17472°N 117.88111°W  / 34.17472; -117.88111  ( Morris Dam ) Download coordinates as: Bonneville Power Administration The Bonneville Power Administration ( BPA )

782-438: The site and moved material and concrete from their loading grounds to the dam site. Scores of horse teams helped carry equipment and gravel from the camp to the various work areas. Additionally, one Buick and seven Ford trucks serviced both crews and visitors and provided an unexpected level of mobility throughout the campsite. In an effort to alleviate some of the discomfort along the Boise & Arrowrock, Reclamation purchased

816-579: The site's hotel, bunkhouses, or cottages. In addition to the outdoor recreational activities, the camp also operated a YMCA , school, and dancehall. At the peak of construction, some 1,400 people had called Arrowrock home, including some 200 families. To provide power for the site, Reclamation retrofitted The Boise River Diversion Dam with a small powerhouse. Finished in 1912, the plant's three generators produced 1,500 kilowatts of electricity for Arrowrock's camp, sawmills, and giant cement mixers. The German made Allis-Chalmers 725 horsepower (541 kW) turbines,

850-599: The structure was some twenty miles (32 km) upstream from the Boise River Diversion Dam , routing supplies to the worksite would be a massive undertaking unto itself. The Reclamation Service elected to construct a new rail line on the old wagon road leading north to Idaho City . The railroad would begin at the Barberton mill near the Diversion Dam and extend to through a winding canyon up to Arrowrock. Even before

884-460: The transmission line to the dam was updated. National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark The following is a list of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks as designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers since it began the program in 1964. The designation is granted to projects, structures, and sites in the United States ( National Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks ) and

918-840: The two 500 kV AC lines of the Pacific AC Intertie, plus a third 500 kV AC line of the California-Oregon Transmission Project (COTP) (managed by the Balancing Authority of Northern California). Together these three lines are operated as the California-Oregon Intertie (COI) (managed by the California Independent System Operator CAISO). An additional DC ±500 kV line, the Pacific DC Intertie , links BPA's grid at

952-465: The work site. Although the construction was delayed several times by the shortage of railroad ties, workers finished the track in early November. By most accounts, the trip through the canyon was a very long and harrowing event. For the first several months, riders were asked to disembark at the unfinished Gooseneck Bridge while the cars were winched across one at a time. However, once they arrived, most passengers were surprised by what they found. Not only

986-526: The workers set several construction records, not the least of which included the 527,300 cubic yards (403,100 m) of concrete laid on the dam. The Reclamation Service spared no expense regarding the equipment at Arrowrock Dam. Along with the refurbished 70-ton Atlantic steam shovel from Deer Flat were two versatile 18-ton "dinkey" excavators and several brand new dump cars. The cement mixers produced over 2,000 barrels per day and ran uninterrupted for almost 30 months. Two 12-ton Lidgerwood cableways hovered over

1020-521: The world for nine years, until the completion of the Schräh dam in Switzerland in 1924, with a height of 366 feet (111.6 m). In addition, engineers pioneered the use of dam instrumentation with the placement of ten thermometers embedded deep within the structure's concrete. Along with innovative contraction joints, the Reclamation Service was able to control the temperature of the setting concrete, ensuring

1054-475: Was completed. BPA is still making payments on three of the abandoned plants. In 2003, BPA's debt for the nuclear project totaled $ 6.2 billion. In 1973, the BPA commissioned TRW Inc. to write software for the PDP-10 mainframe computer that managed the agency's power grid; Bill Gates and Paul Allen wrote the software for the monitoring system, which remained in operation until its replacement in 2013. In 2014,

Arrowrock Dam - Misplaced Pages Continue

1088-647: Was made to maintain the historic qualities of the powerhouse. The original governors, slate control panels, transformers, overhead crane, and generator housings, although no longer functional, were retained for historic purposes. Work began on the Arrowrock Dam in early 1912 and moved along at a record-setting pace. As labor was becoming more plentiful with the completion of Deer Flat and the Diversion Dam, wage rates began to decrease. Common laborers were now offered $ 2.40 and day while skilled workers pulled in anywhere from $ 3.00 to $ 4.00. In addition, several deductions were made for room and board. Workers could choose between

1122-532: Was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on August 20, 1936. The federal agency was created to market electricity from the Bonneville and Grand Coulee dams based on the model of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). It would provide a flat rate for customer utilities and use revenue from these sales to pay off the bonds used by the federal government to finance the construction of dams in

1156-523: Was the view breathtaking but the "work" camp offered amenities that were unavailable to some residents of the Treasure Valley. Not only was the site fully powered, but also it provided a central heating plant, running water and an efficient sewage system. Along with the Reclamation offices, the Arrowrock camp carried a hospital, mess hall, post office, and hotel. Workers and visitors were offered lodging in

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