Mansfield Dam (formerly Marshall Ford Dam) is a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

located across a canyon at Marshall Ford on the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

, northwest of

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

. The groundbreaking ceremony occurred on February 19, 1937, with

United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natur ...

Harold L. Ickes Harold LeClair Ickes ( ; March 15, 1874 – February 3, 1952) was an American administrator, politician and lawyer. He served as United States Secretary of the Interior for nearly 13 years from 1933 to 1946, the longest tenure of anyone to hold th ...

attending. The dam was a joint project by the

Lower Colorado River Authority The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) is a nonprofit public utility created in November 1934 by the Texas Legislature. LCRA's mission is to enhance the lives of the Texans it serves through water stewardship, energy and community service. LC ...

(LCRA) and the

United States Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...

, with partial funding provided by the Public Works Administration. Brown and Root, headed by James E. Walters, Sr., was the prime contractor. The dam was completed in 1941. Originally called Marshall Ford Dam, the name was changed in 1941 in honor of

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

J.J. Mansfield. The

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

behind Mansfield Dam is named

Lake Travis Lake Travis is a reservoir on the Colorado River in central Texas in the United States. Serving principally as a flood-control reservoir, Lake Travis' historical minimum to maximum water height change is nearly 100 feet. In 2018 alone, it saw ...

. The dam is owned and operated by the LCRA. Mansfield Dam is high, long, and thick at the base. The concrete gravity dam with

embankment Embankment may refer to: Geology and geography * A levee, an artificial bank raised above the immediately surrounding land to redirect or prevent flooding by a river, lake or sea * Embankment (earthworks), a raised bank to carry a road, railwa ...

wings and saddle

dike Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes ...

s was designed to control

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

ing; to store 1.4 km³ (369 billion US gallons) of

water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

; and to generate

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

(108 megawatts). The Spillway Elevation is above

Mean Sea Level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics, especially in statistics. Each mean serves to summarize a given group of data, often to better understand the overall value (magnitude and sign) of a given data set. For a data set, the '' ari ...

(MSL). LCRA begins to open floods gates when water reaches 681 feet above MSL. At above MSL, discharge capacity exceeds as the lake rises. The two lanes of Mansfield Dam Road, formerly RM 620, traverse the top of the dam, but traffic other than service vehicles are now prohibited. 620 was rerouted in 1995 to a four-lane highway bridge on the downstream side of the dam built for increase in traffic due to the popularity in Austin of recreating at Lake Travis.

Political History

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

ran for his first elected office as

for Texas's 10th congressional district (where the Mansfield Dam was located). His campaign was backed by the dam's contractors, and his success in clearing funding and regulatory hurdles for the dam shortly after his election is considered a cornerstone of his future political career.

References

External links

LCRA WebsiteCurrent Water Level Conditions
{{Crossings navbox , structure=Crossings , place=

, bridge=Mansfield Dam , bridge signs=Mansfield Dam Road , upstream= U.S. Route 281 in Texas, Marble Falls Bridge , upstream signs= US 281

, downstream=RM 620 Bridge , downstream signs= Texas RM 620

Buildings and structures in Austin, Texas Dams in Texas Buildings and structures in Travis County, Texas Hydroelectric power plants in Texas United States Bureau of Reclamation dams Lower Colorado River Authority dams Dams completed in 1941 Energy infrastructure completed in 1941 Bridges in Austin, Texas Crossings of the Colorado River (Texas) Public Works Administration in Texas