Blood, concrete, and dynamite: Building the Hoover Dam - Alex Gendler

翻译人员: 思辰 李 校对人员: Helen Chang

High above the floor of Nevada’s Black Canyon,

在内华达州的黑峡上空，

a group of men repelled down the cliff face.

一群人正沿着崖壁工作。

Suddenly, a man stumbled over the canyon rim.

突然，有人失足从峡谷边缘跌了下来。

He plummeted past the men, too fast for them to grab—

他铅直落下，看到的人都来不及抓住。

when another climber swung out from the rocks

直到有一个攀者从岩石上荡到他身边，

and carried him to safety.

他终于又安全了。

Once they’d repelled the engineer up the cliff,

才把工程师送回悬崖上，

his savior swung back to business as usual—

这位救星就接着回去工作了。

just another day in the construction of the Hoover Dam.

只不过是建造胡佛大坝过程中的 寻常又一天。

In the early 20th century,

在 20 世纪初期，

the United States had expanded from coast to coast,

美国沿着海岸逐渐扩张，

but many cities in the arid southwest still lacked reliable water sources.

但在干旱的西南部， 许多城市仍然缺乏可靠的水源。

While the Colorado River had been diverted into a series of canals,

尽管科罗拉多河已经分流 改道出了许多运河，

its erratic flow and frequent floods made it unreliable for agriculture.

水流湍急，洪水频生的它 依然不适于农业。

At the same time, the region’s growing cities and industries

与此同时， 该地区不断发展的城市和工业

continually needed more energy.

需要更多的能源。

So in 1922, the Bureau of Reclamation decided to solve all these problems

于是在 1922 年， 垦务局决定一举解决这些问题

in one fell swoop by building a massive hydroelectric dam.

建造一座巨大的水电站大坝。

Ensuring water rights for the project required unprecedented cooperation

沿河的七个州需要前所未有地合作，

between all seven states along the river.

来确保这个项目的相关水权。

But once local governments agreed,

当地政府一达成共识，

the Bureau determined that Black Canyon’s narrow gorge was best suited

该局就认定狭窄的黑峡 最适合用来建造

for an arch-gravity dam.

拱形重力坝。

This design curves upstream,

这种设计向上游弯曲

using the force of oncoming water to push the structure into its supports—

将迎面而来的水压力 反作用于拱端的支持 -

in this case, the canyon walls.

也就是峡谷两壁。

Arch dams have been built since ancient times,

拱坝自古就有，

but never on such a massive scale.

但从未达到如此庞大的规模。

When complete, the structure would be 221 by 379 meters.

一旦完成，该结构将 高 221 米，宽 379米。

It would take an enormous labor force to build a dam this massive.

修建这样大的水坝需要大量的劳动力。

And when the Great Depression struck only a year after the project’s approval,

该项目仅获批一年，大萧条就爆发了。

thousands of families looking for work began flocking to the site.

成千上万失业的家庭涌向此地。

The earliest arrivals lived in a makeshift encampment called Ragtown.

早先到的人们住在一个 叫做 Ragtown 的临时营地。

With no infrastructure, scarce supplies, and little protection from the elements,

此地没有基础设施，鲜有生活供给， 更缺乏对自然灾害的保护。

several residents died of heatstroke.

不少人因中暑而死。

So to better house workers,

为了更好地安置工人，

the government designed and built the still thriving Boulder City,

政府设计建造了 如今依然繁荣的博尔德城。

complete with numerous amenities, including a state-of-the-art hospital.

在这里配备了许多设施， 包括一流的医院。

Before construction on the dam could begin,

在水坝正式动工以前，

the entire river had to be rerouted.

整条河流必须改道。

Building these diversion tunnels required blasting into each side of the canyon

为了导流，峡谷的两侧都进行了爆破，

to create 17 meter tall tubes.

来建造这些长达17米的管道。

With a combined length of almost 5 kilometers,

这些隧道总长近 5 公里，

these tunnels could divert roughly 5,600 cubic meters of water per second.

每秒可分流的水约 5,600 立方米。

However, workers faced grueling conditions to finish these on time,

为了按时完工， 工人们承受了艰苦的工作条件，

and dozens succumbed to the scorching heat.

数十人死于酷热。

By the fall of 1932, the river had been successfully redirected.

1932 年秋，河流改道成功。

But the most dangerous work was still ahead.

但最危险的工作尚未到来。

Over 1 million cubic meters of loose rock needed to be cleared

超过 100 万立方米的岩砾

得从峡谷壁上清理下来。

from the canyon walls.

So foremen brought in high scalers who descended the cliffs on ropes,

工头找来了娴熟的攀岩者，

他们腰系绳索， 用手提钻和炸药清除了碎石。

removing rubble with jackhammers and dynamite.

From circus acrobats and former sailors, to local Apache,

杂技演员、退役水手、阿帕奇原住民等

these death-defying individuals performed some of the most dangerous—

这些生死无畏的人在那里

完成了最危险，也是最宏伟的工作。

and glamorous— work on site.

After the walls were cleared, it was finally time to build the dam.

峡壁清理完成，水坝可以开工了。

This required pouring over 6.6 million tons of concrete—

660 万吨混凝土被浇筑于此，

足以铺设一个横跨美国的公路。

enough to pave a road across the entire US.

But so much concrete poured at once would take far too long to cool and harden.

如果一次性浇筑这么多混凝土， 需要很长时间去硬化冷却。

So to speed this process up,

为了加快这一过程，

concrete was poured in interlocking blocks of varying sizes,

混凝土被浇筑进不同尺寸， 相连的方块中。

each containing steel pipes flowing with cold water.

每块里面都放置了流有冷水的钢管。

By 1935, most of the structure had been completed two years ahead of schedule.

到了 1935 年， 大部分结构已经提前 2 年竣工。

On February 1st, the diversion tunnels opened to fill the dam’s reservoir,

2 月 1 日，引流通道打开， 灌满了大坝的水库。

capable of holding twice the Colorado River’s annual flow.

水库可以容纳科罗拉多河两年的流量。

Upon completion, the dam was the tallest manmade structure in the world.

建成之后， 该水坝成了世界上最高的人造结构。

However, the speed of its construction came at the cost of worker safety.

然而，它建成的速度， 是以工人的安全为代价的。

While this project employed roughly 21,000 Americans during a major economic crisis,

虽然在经济危机期间， 该项目提供了21,000 个岗位，

over 100 people died during construction.

百来人在施工中丧命。

Creating the reservoir also destroyed communities like St. Thomas

建造水库破坏了圣托马斯等居民区，

and devastated the Colorado River ecosystem.

还摧毁了柯洛达罗河的生态系统。

Today, the Hoover Dam generates over 4 billion kilowatt-hours annually,

如今，胡佛大坝每年提供 超 40 亿千瓦时的电力，

providing electricity for over 1.3 million people.

足够 130 万人使用。

But the consequences of its construction continue to cast a shadow

但建造它所带来的后果，

一直使这座历史性的建筑 笼罩着阴影。

over this monumental structure.