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I . ,.., a H& .t~.\.1 Wenzel and Henoch Construction Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and executed March 17th, with the completion date established as December 17, 1938. The second tunnel job to be authorized but the first to show progress was in the Coachella division, consisting of 18.3 miles in the single East Coachella tunnel and about 8 miles of the adjoining West Coachella tunnels, under six schedules with operations to be carried on from six camps. As a measure to relieve the unem- ployment situation, at that time extremely acnte, and avoid the delay in starting work consequent upon advertising for bids, the board of directors on December 21, 1932 authorized the construc- tion of these six schedules by District forces. Five days later, on December 26, 1932, two superintendents with construction crews were on the ground at Fargo and Thousand Palms camp sites, ready to start work, and within two months' time work was in ac- tive progress at all six camp locations on stub roads, grading for camps, erecting buildings, laying water lines, and such excavation in approach cut, adit or. tunnel as could be done effectively with temporary equipment. The specifications for construction of the Coachella tunnels were similar in all respects to those for tunnels under contract, and the construction forces of the District were subject to independent inspection in the same manner as were forces of the contractors. Estimates by District engineers had indicated that the cost of half-capacity tunnels would run not less than 75 per cent of that of full-capacity tunnels, and that there would therefore be no economy in constructing these features to anything less than full size. In order to secure irrefutable evidence on this point, the next tunnel specifications, those for construction of Bernasconi and Valverdc tunnels, were issued February 24, 1933 inviting alterna- tive bids on both sizes. When bids were opened on April 3rd it was found that the low bidders on the full capacity were likewise low bidders on half capacity, and on the basis of their bids the smaller size would cost approximately 86 per cent of the full size. In the meantime specifications had been issued March 13, 1933 inviting bids on the construction of Iron Mountain, Coxcomb, and Cottonwood tunnels to both full and half capacity. Here again on the basis of bids received on April 17th the cost of half-capacity construction would have been 82 per cent or more of the cost of full capacity. MAIN AQUEDUCT TUNNELS 149