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18-664: The diverted water fills the concrete New York Canal , the primary irrigation channel for Ada and Canyon counties in the Treasure Valley . Several miles upstream of the Diversion Dam is Lucky Peak Dam . Completed in 1955, it was built and is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers . In March 1906, the Utah Fire Proofing Company began work on the Boise River Diversion Dam with the provision that

36-623: A survey of the Boise Valley in 1883, and he envisioned a 75-mile (120 km) canal that would draw water from the south side of the Boise River and irrigate 500,000 acres (780 sq mi; 2,020 km ) of desert through 5,000 lateral ditches. The main canal became known as the New York Canal, in deference to eastern investors. It was not the first irrigation system in the Boise Valley; in 1878, William H. Ridenbaugh began construction of

54-594: The Boise River . It is the largest city center in the U.S. state of Idaho . See List of tallest buildings in Boise Interstate 184 connects Interstate 84 with downtown. The interstate also carries US 20 and US 26 into downtown, which joins the freeway in Garden City. The freeway ends downtown at 13th Street, where it continues along two five-lane one-way streets. Myrtle Street carries eastbound traffic, while

72-655: The Diversion Dam in Ada County and ends after 41 miles (66 km) at Lake Lowell in Canyon County . The canal system includes multiple lateral canals that distribute water to approximately 165,000 acres (260 sq mi; 670 km ) of Treasure Valley farmland. The canal's concrete channel has a capacity of 2,400 cubic feet (68 m ) per second. Completion of the Oregon Short Line Railroad in

90-665: The Ridenbaugh Canal from the north side of the Boise River, and smaller projects had existed beginning in the 1860s. In the 1880s, work on the New York Canal focused mainly on the Foote survey and on acquiring water rights. The Idaho Mining and Irrigation Company began construction near the Boise River Canyon, about ten miles (16 km) upstream and east of downtown Boise ; work required moving boulders and cutting rock. The difficulty of work partially accounted for slow progress on

108-497: The bureau gained control of the New York Canal project. After trimming several miles from the former design and completing construction of the canal and diversion dam, the bureau opened the New York Canal on February 22, 1909. The canal was enlarged by 1912, and it was placed under control of the Boise Project in 1926. Downtown Boise Downtown Boise is the central business district of Boise , Idaho , located north of

126-475: The canal had been completed. Another Boise River project undertaken by the company, the Phyllis Canal, named for investors from Philadelphia , also had completed about two miles. The Phyllis Canal later became part of the New York Canal system. In 1890, the company secured investment capital of $ 300,000 to complete work on the canal. The general contractor was Denver railroad builder William C. Bradbury, and

144-554: The canal, but another factor was the Depression of 1882–85 , and some eastern investors had been forced to divest their holdings in the company. Arthur Foote continued to work with little pay, and the company allowed only a minimum construction effort, this to retain its water rights. In 1888, the Idaho Statesman objected to claims that the New York Canal would be completed that year. The newspaper found that "maps and profiles" were

162-409: The company believed the canal would be finished in 1891. By September, 1890, 220 workers were employed, and the company advertised employment for 1000 workers. But progress on the canal continued into 1892, when work stopped because of disagreements between investors; work resumed in 1893. The Idaho Mining and Irrigation Company became insolvent in 1891, and contractor Bradbury filed a lien against

180-460: The company that year. Bradbury continued construction on the canal, apparently financed by his own money. He purchased the canal, right of way, and water rights in a sheriff's auction in 1894. Bradbury later sold the uncompleted canal to the Farmers' Canal Company, an association of about 175 local farmers, in 1896. The United States Congress created the U.S. Reclamation Service in 1902 , and

198-487: The crews to rebuild part of the structure. By April 16, 1907, the dam was only 41% complete. It took another year and a half before the diversion works were ready to unload into the New York Canal. The company eventually lost $ 90,000 on the contract. And to make matters worse in March 1909, a log foreman "maliciously" removed the boom above the dam and allowed timber roll over the embankment causing $ 73,000 worth of damage. Yet when

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216-586: The early 1880s made possible the construction of farming settlements in the Boise Valley. In 1882, investors from New York founded the Idaho Mining and Irrigation Company in order to transform the desert into farmland between the Boise River and the Snake River in southern Idaho Territory . Investors hoped that the company could also begin mining operations in the region, financed by revenue from irrigation canals. Mining engineer Arthur De Wint Foote commenced

234-621: The first in the world to be built with a vertical shaft design. Along with the power lines, government forces hung a two-way phone cable to connect Arrowrock with the outside world; the dam was completed in 1915. 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

252-478: The only work finished, and the editor projected that the canal would require 500 workers over five years before it was completed. In 1889, Idaho Mining and Irrigation Company manager Charles H. Tompkins Jr., estimated that the canal would be seventy miles (110 km) in length and irrigate about 350,000 acres (550 sq mi; 1,400 km ), with an estimated capacity of 2,915 cubic feet (82.5 m ) per second, but he admitted that only two miles (3 km) of

270-558: The structure was completed it worked famously. The Diversion Dam is 68 feet (21 m) high and five hundred feet (152 m) in length, with an overall capacity of 42,815 cubic feet per second (1,212 m/s). To provide power for the construction of Arrowrock Dam upstream, Reclamation retrofitted the 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 Allis-Chalmers 725 horsepower (541 kW) turbines were

288-436: The structure would be completed within one year. It soon became apparent that the dam would not be finished on time. With little experience in such endeavors, Utah Fire Proofing failed to provide adequate foremen for the project. At least nineteen superintendents worked on the dam and their incompetence led to an extraordinary turnover in labor. Inclement weather and flooding caused at least two months' worth of delays and forced

306-583: The three center lanes of the westbound Front Street become I-184 westbound. Broadway carries US 20/US 26 south to I-84, where it runs concurrently with the freeway heading east. Downtown is three miles north of the Boise Airport . Greyhound has a bus terminal in downtown Boise at Bannock and Thirteenth Streets. Greyhound operates buses to Salt Lake City and points beyond and to Pendleton , where one can continue on to Portland , Seattle or Spokane . ValleyRide offers numerous bus routes downtown that service

324-428: 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. New York Canal The New York Canal is an irrigation canal in the western United States , located in southwestern Idaho . Sourced from the Boise River , it originates at

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