Hoover Dam was cast in columns because one solid pour would take 125 years to reach air temperature

Hoover Dam was cast in columns because one solid pour would take 125 years to reach air temperature

Bureau of Reclamation engineers worked out that a single continuous pour would have needed 125 years to cool to the temperature of the surrounding air, and that the stresses would have cracked the dam apart. The answer was an estimated 215 blocks, more than 582 miles of embedded steel pipe and a refrigeration plant on the lower cofferdam.