The Route No. 1 Overton-Lake Mead Road contributed significantly to National Park Service development of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area beginning in Dikes and ditches were a critical element of construction of the road, because these features protected the roadway from flooding and erosion caused by rapid water runoff in the desert environment. Some of the dikes and ditches were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps between and as elements of a road from Overton, Nevada to the Valley of Fire. Report Prepared By: Kurt Schweigert Associated Cultural Resource Experts (ACRE) Littleton, Colorado Date: September ROUTE NO. 1 OVERTON-LAKE MEAD ROAD, DIVERSION DIKES AND DITCHES (Northshore Road, Overton Beach Access Road) HAER No. Page 2 I. Description Route No.
1 Overton-Lake Mead Road (Route No. 1) was constructed in to provide access to Overton Beach, a recreation facility within the Boulder Dam Recreation Area (now the Lake Mead National Recreation Area). The documented portion of Route No. 1 extends from Overton Beach southwestward and then northwestward about 6.2 miles to the boundary of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The documented segment of Route No. 1 includes 29 earthen diversion dikes that protect the roadway from flooding and erosion by channeling runoff water toward culverts or natural drainage channels. Diversion dikes along Route No. 1 are typically one to three feet high above the surrounding natural ground surface, are six to 10 feet wide at base, and have adjacent ditches on the upslope sides.
Diversion dikes and ditches vary in length from 17 feet to 991 feet. Most dikes are straight, but curved and V-shaped dikes area also present. Construction of Route No. 1 in included incorporation of at least 8 dikes with ditches that had been built previously by the Civilian Conservation Corps to protect an initial road from Overton to the Valley of Fire. Many of the dikes built in both the and episodes ofroad construction have been severely eroded or partly buried, and most adjoining ditches appear to have been partly filled by wind-blown or sheet-wash sediments. Dikes constructed by the CCC are generally mounded at top and do not have rock or gravel finish.
Dikes constructed by the contractor for the Bureau of Public Roads in generally have a flat top from three to five feet wide, and some of these dikes have gravel surfaces and/or loose rock placed along the ditch sides to retard erosion of the dike. Ditches dug by the CCC are virtually indistinguishable from those dug by the contractor for the Bureau of Public Roads. Dikes and ditches along the documented segment of Route No. 1 are listed in Table 1 below and are shown on maps at the conclusion of this section. ROUTE NO. 1 OVERTON-LAKE MEAD ROAD, DIVERSION DIKES AND DITCHES (Northshore Road, Overton Beach Access Road) HAER No. Page 3 Table 1: Dikes and Ditches on Route No. 1 Overton-Lake Mead Road Feature Special Height Ditch Ditch Feature Builder Condition UTM Location Width* Length No.
Features (inches) Width Depth Dike and BPR Fair 20 10' 10' 2' 20 Ditch Contractor Dike and BPR Good 48 15' 6' 3' 21 Ditch Contractor Dike BPR Fair 24 10' 33' 10' 2' 22 Contractor Dike BPR Good 12 6' 18" 43 Contractor Dike BPR Small Destroyed NIA NIA NIA NIA NIA 49 Contractor remnants only Dike and BPR Good 24 8' 5' 51 Ditch Contractor Dike Unknown- Possible Fair 36 11' 84' NIA NIA not on as- ditches built highly plans; eroded likely 59 BPR because it is not near earlier road Dike and BPR Flat top Good 12 8" 64 Ditch Contractor Dike and BPR Flat top, Good 30 8' 2' 117 Ditch Contractor graveled Dike BPR Good 20 10' 8' 2' 123 Contractor Dike and BPR Dike has Fair 36 8' 4' 2' Ditch; Contractor 2 levels extension of low 146 water crossing feature Dike Unknown- Not Fair 48 8' 99' NIA NIA not on shown on 158 asbuilt; as- likely built; I CCC slight ROUTE NO.
1 OVERTON-LAKE MEAD ROAD, DIVERSION DIKES AND DITCHES (Northshore Road, Overton Beach Access Road) HAER No. Page4 Table 1: Dikes and Ditches on Route No.1 Overton-Lake Mead Road Feature Special Height Ditch Ditch Feature Builder Condition UTM Location Width* Length No.
Features (inches) Width Depth ditch Dike BPR Flat top, Good 36 NIA NIA 132 Contractor graveled, no ditch Dike BPR Mounded Poor 36 10' 17' NIA NIA Contractor on top, highly 134 eroded, ditch not evident Dike BPR Partly Poor 48 12' NIA NIA Contractor eroded, 133 upper side filled Dike BPR Flat top, Fair 28 29' NIA NIA 135 Contractor no ditch Dike and BPR Flat top 14 15" 142 Ditch Contractor Dike and BPR Fair 10 10' 65' 6' I 3' 2' 147 Ditch Contractor Dike and BPR Poor 15 12' 6' 2' 148 Ditch Contractor Dike CCC Mounded, Poor 8 6' NIA NIA highly eroded; north side 149 of Valley of Fire Road, no ditch Dike CCC Very Good 10 40' NIA NIA large 150 dike, no ditch Dike and CCC Fair/Poor 24 8' 6' 14" 151 Ditch Dike and BPR Rock Good 26 4' Ditch Contractor from ditch 152 placed along I) upslope ROUTE NO.
1 OVERTON-LAKE MEAD ROAD, DIVERSION DIKES AND DITCHES (Northshore Road, Overton Beach Access Road) HAER No. Page 5 Table 1: Dikes and Ditches on Route No. 1 Overton-Lake Mead Road Feature Special Height Ditch Ditch Feature Builder Condition UTM Location Width* Length No. Features (inches) Width Depth side of dike 153 Dike and CCC Poor 6 8' NIA NIA Ditch 154 Dike BPR No ditch Poor 27 8' 90' NIA NIA Contractor Dikes CCC Dike with Fair 36 12' 6' 1' and break for 155 Ditch drainage Dike CCC Highly Poor 25 9' NIA NIA 156 eroded, no ditch Dike and CCC Mounded, Poor 6 6' NIA NIA 157 Ditch slight ditch ROUTE NO. 1 OVERTON-LAKE MEAD ROAD, DIVERSION DIKES AND DITCHES (Northshore Road, Overton Beach Access Road) HAER No.
Page 6 IL History The dikes and ditches along the documented segment of Route No. 1 were built either by the Civilian Conservation Corps between and or by a contractor for the Bureau of Public Roads in Construction of Route No. 1 is extensively discussed in the Historical Data section ofHAER-NV-40. Please also see written and historical data for HAER-NV-40-A (Route No. 1 Culverts and Headwalls), HAER-NV-40-B (Route No. 1 Gutters), HAER-NV- (Route No. 1 Low Water Crossings), and HAER NV-40-E (Route No. 1 Station Markers). III. Sources Blalack, JoAnn Overton Beach Road Survey of Route 1 Overton-Lake Mead Highway Station Markers. National Park Service, W estem Archeological and Conservation Center, Tucson, Arizona. Cassell, J. T.
Final Construction Report, Grading and Bituminous Treated Surfacing on Section A of Route 1 Overton-Lake Mead Boulder Dam Recreational Area Clark County, Nevada. Daron, Steven E. Replacement of a Culvert Along Overton Beach Access Road, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Clark County, Nevada. Submitted to Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Boulder City, Nevada. WACC Project# LAME Federal Highway Administration Report on Existing Headwalls Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps circa Northshore Road and Overton Beach Road. Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada Projects PRA- LAME & PRA-LAME Prepared by the Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Central Federal Lands Highway Division, Denver, Colorado.
National Park Service Project 1-A, Grading and Bituminous Treated Surfacing Route No. 1- Overton-Lake Mead, Boulder Dam Recreational Area Highway System, Arizona & Nevada. On file at National Park Service, Lake Mead National Recreation Headquarters, Boulder City, Nevada. IV. Project Information This documentation has been prepared at the request of the National Park Service, Lake Mead National Recreation Area. In NPS and the Nevada State Historic Preservation Office (NV-SHPO) agreed that repair or maintenance could adversely affect historic drainage structures along Route No. 1. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between NPS and NV-SHPO stipulated that HAER documentation would be accomplished for features along Route No. 1 prior to reconstruction of the road.
This HAER documentation partially fulfills requirements of the MOA. This documentation was accomplished by Associated Cultural Resource Experts (ACRE) under provisions of a task order issued by the National Park Service to Scientific Applications International Corporation (SAIC). Kurt P. Schweigert of ACRE was Principal Investigator and prepared the second draft and final documentation packages. Douglas M. Edwards and Kurt P. Schweigert of ACRE were the photographers, and Peggy Beedle of ACRE accomplished most of the research and initial field documentation. Melissa Johnson of ACRE assisted in field documentation and photography. Field documentation and photography were accomplished in February and February ROUTE NO.
1 OVERTON-LAKE MEAD ROAD, DIVERSION DIKES AND DITCHES (Northshore Road, Overton Beach Access Road) HAER No. Page 7 This documentation was based in part on three previous field surveys of drainage features and survey monuments along Route No. 1 (Daron Blalack Federal Highway Administration Lake Mead National Recreation Area staff provided copies of plans for Route 1 and other materials. Additional information was obtained from the National Park Service Technical Information Center in Denver, Colorado; Special Collections at the Lied Library at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas; and the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. Boulder City, Nevada historian Dennis McBride provided a newspaper index on road articles from local newspapers. 1:5 ~ z 9 ,_.
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