SRP crews begin prep work on ‘Mt. Rushmore of the Southwest’

PHOENIX — In an effort to boost tourism to Roosevelt Dam, Salt River Project designers and engineers began work on a $5 million dollar project to update the face of the 350-foot tall structure.

SRP crews are preparing to construct a gigantic relief of President Theodore Roosevelt to the face of the Salt River structure that bears his name, “with an eye on paying homage to the Greco-Roman style used to build Roosevelt Dam back in the early 1900s.”

Initial preparation work began last month, with work crews repelling down the dam’s face to drill holes to set anchor points for concrete molds.

“This will be the Mt. Rushmore of the Southwest,” said Arthur Lier, SRP’s Special Projects Manager.

The majestic relief is expected to be completed in March 2017 to coincide with the 106th anniversary of the dedication of Roosevelt Dam.

Once Giant Teddy is completed, tourists are expected to rent paddleboats to view the monumental relief from the remote but scenic east end of Apache Lake.

Based on estimates from the Arizona Office of Tourism, Giant Teddy is projected to attract more than 1 million visitors each year. Experts say the boost to the Arizona economy could rival the impact of spring training baseball.

Rumors of a similar project at the Hoover Dam have begun to spread, but the Hoover project would depict the controversial president riding on the back of a bald eagle.

When it comes to April Fool’s pranks, maybe ol’ Teddy put it best when he said “if you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.”

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