After the flood of 1938, the U.S Army Corps devised many flood control projects. Engineers recalculated the volume of water flowing through the river during storms, and quickly constructed a plan; this included paved banks and reinforced concrete channels. The plan’s work cost $268.2 million dollars and took 20 years, 3.5 million barrels of cement, 147 million pounds of reinforced steel and 460,000 tons of stone, but on November 6th, 1959, the L.A. River was finally channelized. Additionally, the Sepulveda Flood Control Basin and dams (like Hansen Dam) were built and completed. These precautions helped regulate the L.A. River, and prevent another disaster like the flood of 1938.
Workers widen the river and straighten the river’s course manually to avoid the destruction of homes.
Engineers recalculated the volume of water that would flow through the river during storms. They came up with several plans, including reinforced concrete channels and banks.
Workers encasing the LA river in cement, creating the “water freeway” that we know today.