Construction
The promise of cheap hydropower was the chief reason why Henry Ford agreed to build a plant in St. Paul. The dam was initially completed in 1917, making it one of the oldest on the river. However, hydroelectric power required a rather large dam, which meant that the first lock and dam built on the Mississippi would have to be demolished. Some remains of the upstream Meeker Island Lock and Dam still poke out of the water when the river is low. A major upgrade to the Ford Dam was completed in 1929, and the completion of locks by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers followed in 1932. The dam was transferred to Twin City Hydro, LLC on April 14, 2008, and is currently being refurbished with projections to be back online in the fall of 2010.
The Ford name is also attached to a nearby bridge, completed in 1927. Officially known as the Intercity Bridge, it connects 46th Street on the Minneapolis side of the river to the Ford Parkway in St. Paul.
Read more about this topic: Twin Cities Assembly Plant
Famous quotes containing the word construction:
“There’s no art
To find the mind’s construction in the face.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“The construction of life is at present in the power of facts far more than convictions.”
—Walter Benjamin (1892–1940)
“Striving toward a goal puts a more pleasing construction on our advance toward death.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)