U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the context of "Civil works"

Play Trivia Questions online!

or

Skip to study material about U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the context of "Civil works"

Ad spacer

⭐ Core Definition: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil works. USACE has 37,000 civilian and military personnel, making it one of the world's largest public engineering, design, and construction management agencies. The USACE workforce is approximately 97% civilian, 3% active duty military. The civilian workforce is mainly located in the United States, Europe and in select Middle East office locations. Civilians do not function as active duty military and are not required to be in active war and combat zones; however, volunteer (with pay) opportunities do exist for civilians to do so.

The day-to-day activities of the three mission areas are administered by a lieutenant general known as the chief of engineers/commanding general. The chief of engineers commands the Engineer Regiment, comprising combat engineer, rescue, construction, dive, and other specialty units, and answers directly to the chief of staff of the Army. Combat engineers, sometimes called sappers, form an integral part of the Army's combined arms team and are found in all Army service components: Regular Army, National Guard, and Army Reserve. Their duties are to breach obstacles; construct fighting positions, fixed/floating bridges, and obstacles and defensive positions; place and detonate explosives; conduct route clearance operations; emplace and detect landmines; and fight as provisional infantry when required. For the military construction mission, the chief of engineers is directed and supervised by the Assistant Secretary of the Army for installations, environment, and energy, whom the President appoints and the Senate confirms. Military construction relates to construction on military bases and worldwide installations.

↓ Menu

>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
In this Dossier

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the context of Proctor Lake

Proctor Lake is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir along the Leon River located in Comanche County in the U.S. state of Texas, around 3 miles (5 km) west of Proctor, Texas. Proctor Lake Dam and the reservoir are managed by the Fort Worth District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The reservoir was officially impounded in 1963, and serves to provide flood control and drinking water for the communities downstream. Proctor Lake is a popular recreational destination.

↑ Return to Menu

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the context of Public Works Administration

The Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recovery Act in June 1933 in response to the Great Depression. It built large-scale public works such as dams, bridges, hospitals, and schools. Its goals were to spend $3.3 billion in the first year, and $6 billion in all, to supply employment, stabilize buying power, and help revive the economy. Most of the spending came in two waves, one in 1933–1935 and another in 1938. Originally called the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, it was renamed the Public Works Administration in 1935 and shut down in 1944.

The PWA spent over $7 billion on contracts with private construction firms that did the actual work. It created an infrastructure that generated national and local pride in the 1930s and is still vital nine decades later. The PWA was much less controversial than its rival agency, the Works Progress Administration (WPA), headed by Harry Hopkins, which focused on smaller projects and hired unemployed unskilled workers.

↑ Return to Menu

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the context of Falls of the Ohio

The Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area is a national, bi-state area on the Ohio River near Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States, administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in partnership with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Federal status was awarded in 1981. The falls were designated a National Natural Landmark in 1966.

↑ Return to Menu

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the context of McAlpine Locks and Dam

The McAlpine Locks and Dam are a set of locks and a hydroelectric dam at the Falls of the Ohio River at Louisville, Kentucky. They are located at mile point 606.8, and control a 72.9-mile-long (117.3 km) navigation pool. The locks and their associated canal were the first major engineering project on the Ohio River, completed in 1830 as the 1.9-mile Louisville and Portland Canal, designed to allow shipping traffic to navigate through the Falls of the Ohio. The locks system is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

At present, the normal pool elevation is 420 feet (130 m) above sea level and the drainage area above the dam is 91,170 square miles (236,100 km). The average daily flow at McAlpine is 118,000 cubic feet per second (3,340 m/s). The lock chambers are located at the dam on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River and are capable of a normal lift of 37 feet (11 m) between the McAlpine pool upstream and the Cannelton pool downstream.

↑ Return to Menu

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the context of Old River Control Structure

The Old River Control Structure is a floodgate system in a branch of the Mississippi River in central Louisiana. It regulates the flow of water from the Mississippi into the Atchafalaya River, thereby preventing the Mississippi River from changing course. Completed in 1963, the complex was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in a side channel of the Mississippi known as "Old River", between the Mississippi's current channel and the Atchafalaya Basin, a former channel of the Mississippi.

The Old River Control Structure is a complex containing the original low-sill and overbank structures, as well as the auxiliary structure that was constructed after the low-sill structure was damaged during the Mississippi River Flood of 1973. The complex also contains a navigation lock and the Sidney A. Murray Jr. Hydroelectric Station.

↑ Return to Menu

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the context of Hanover, New Hampshire

Hanover is a town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university Dartmouth College, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, and Hanover High School. The Appalachian Trail crosses the town, connecting with a number of trails and nature preserves.

Most of the population resides in the Hanover census-designated place (CDP)—the main village of the town. Located at the junctions of New Hampshire routes 10, 10A, and 120, the Hanover CDP recorded a population of 9,078 people at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Lebanon–Claremont micropolitan area and also contains the smaller villages of Etna and Hanover Center.

↑ Return to Menu

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the context of Pikeville Cut-Through

The Pikeville Cut-Through is a rock cut in Pikeville, Kentucky, United States, completed in 1987, through which passes a four-lane divided highway (Corridor B, numbered as U.S. Route 23 (US 23), US 119, US 460, and KY 80), a railroad line (CSX' Big Sandy Subdivision), and the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River. It is one of the largest civil engineering projects in the Western Hemisphere. Nearly 18,000,000 cubic yards (14,000,000 m) of soil and rock were moved while making the Pikeville Cut-Through. It was designed and constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Pikeville Cut-Through is 1,300 feet (400 m) wide, 3,700 feet (1.1 km) long, and 523 feet (159 m) deep. The project was completed in 1987 following 14 years of work at a cost of $77.6 million ($215 million in 2024 dollars).

↑ Return to Menu