How Albert Einstein's Son Tamed the Mississippi River | WIRED: The forces at work are formidable, breathtaking, dizzying to see. And yet in 1963, with completion of both the Low Sill and the Overbank, the Corps of Engineers breathed a collective sigh of relief. Their job was done. Mission accomplished. The river was saved. “A threat of catastrophic proportions has been ended forever,” chorused a Corps colonel in a triumphal essay the following year.
In just under a decade, however, the colonel would be compelled to eat his words. The river, it turned out, had other plans. This was most amply demonstrated when, in the fall of 1972, the weather in the Midwest suddenly turned bad—and when the consequent spring flood of 1973 turned out to be exceptionally and unexpectedly ominous.
At the height of the crisis, and on a springtime Saturday evening when the rest of America was glued to the national coverage of the Watergate crisis—how appropriate the word!—the Low Sill very nearly gave way. The river pressed so hard against it, whirlpools were born beneath it, protective walls beside it were utterly wrecked, and the dam’s foundations were scoured to the thinness of tissue paper. The structure managed to hold through that terrible night—but only just.
The Corps of Engineers promptly decided that to keep the ever-angrier river in check yet another structure, this time even bigger and still more costly, needed urgently to be built close by. It was called the Auxiliary Structure and it was completed and its lock gates firmly closed in 1986. It has been successfully operational now for 35 years.
In just under a decade, however, the colonel would be compelled to eat his words. The river, it turned out, had other plans. This was most amply demonstrated when, in the fall of 1972, the weather in the Midwest suddenly turned bad—and when the consequent spring flood of 1973 turned out to be exceptionally and unexpectedly ominous.
At the height of the crisis, and on a springtime Saturday evening when the rest of America was glued to the national coverage of the Watergate crisis—how appropriate the word!—the Low Sill very nearly gave way. The river pressed so hard against it, whirlpools were born beneath it, protective walls beside it were utterly wrecked, and the dam’s foundations were scoured to the thinness of tissue paper. The structure managed to hold through that terrible night—but only just.
The Corps of Engineers promptly decided that to keep the ever-angrier river in check yet another structure, this time even bigger and still more costly, needed urgently to be built close by. It was called the Auxiliary Structure and it was completed and its lock gates firmly closed in 1986. It has been successfully operational now for 35 years.