The Shannon Power Development in the Irish Free State

This paper aims to present a broad outline of the civil engineering part of the construction of the Shannon Power Development in the Irish Free State. The work was done by German contractors and the construction methods used are representative of the best European practice. Inasmuch as the manner of dealing with the concrete and rock work did not differ appreciably from American practice under similar circumstances, this part of the description will be restricted to a brief recital of the features peculiar to this particular construction. The equipment and methods used in building a large waterway, such as the head-race of the power plant, however, present features which are not only fundamentally different from American practice, but which are also without precedent in Europe. With the enormous task of building levees on the Mississippi River looming before American engineers, it is thought that a detailed account of the methods used in excavation and in the building of embankments should prove of particular interest.