Copyright University of Nevada Oral History Program 2002
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John
F. Cahlan:
Now understand that before they could start
the actual construction of Boulder Dam, there were two other
major contracts that had to be completed. One was the road
from Boulder City to the dam site; and the second was a
railroad line from the Union Pacific Railroad out to Boulder
City. That is the spur line that took off the Union Pacific
main line about ten miles south of Las Vegas and went out
to Boulder City. The railroad line is still in service,
and the Union Pacific is servicing Henderson with that Boulder
City line.
At that time, there was no paved highway between Las Vegas
and Boulder City. It was a dirt road and was nothing more
than just a place cleared out, between here and Boulder
City, so the cars could drive, if necessary. As they drove,
ruts were dug into the dirt, about a foot or a foot and
a half deep. You got your tires in the ruts, and that’s
where you had to stay. If somebody came along in the other
direction, it was a major project to get one of the automobiles
out of the rut so that the other one could pass it. But
in 1932 the highway department put in a two-lane paved road
which generally follows the same road that is there today.
That road was the beginning of one of the worst eras of
carnage that has happened here, because the dam workers
would come to Las Vegas, visit the bootlegging joints and
start back to Boulder City. Often they would wind up underneath
an automobile some place out on the desert. And numerous
people were killed on the highway out there. |
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