BEFORE WE WERE ERDC

In response to the devastating 1927 Mississippi River flood, Congress passed the Flood Control Act of 1928, initiating several U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) flood control projects along the river.

Leading scientists advocated for a national hydraulics laboratory, and USACE Commanding General Maj. Gen. Edgar Jadwin argued it should be located on the Mississippi River.

In 1930, a site near Durden Creek in Vicksburg was selected to become the home of the Waterways Experiment Station (WES). From its earliest days, the facility aided the Mississippi River Commission in flood control planning and revolutionized hydraulics knowledge through model experiments.

WES soon added research laboratories focused on geotechnical engineering and structures. As its expertise grew, its portfolio expanded to include U.S. military research.

Over the ensuing years, USACE established new laboratories to study topography, cold regions, construction engineering, environmental concerns and information technology.

During World War II, WES personnel focused on building training facilities, designing improvements to harbors and navigation channels, and revolutionizing airfield construction to support Allied air operations. Model studies were completed on select landing sites in North Africa, Italy and France, including preparation for the invasion of Europe on D-Day. To replace the number of engineers, skilled technicians and laborers who entered the service, large numbers of women were hired to work in non-traditional roles. The entire WES force proved invaluable to the war effort

Camp Century, an Arctic military research base built in Greenland, sought to establish nuclear missile launch sites under the ice sheet. Led by the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), engineers pulled ice cores to provide insight into the climate history. A 1963-1966 ice core from these efforts contributed to climate modeling. The Camp Century Climate Monitoring Program continues today, measuring climate variables and ice conditions.

In 1947, the Engineer Board, which had focused on developing military equipment, was renamed the Engineer Research and Development Laboratories. With the change, its focus shifted to long-term investigations. Topographical and mapping technology gained significance, leading to the establishment of the U.S. Geodesy, Intelligence, and Mapping Research and Development Agency (GIMRADA). In 1967, GIMRADA changed its name to the Engineer Topographic Laboratories, a name it would retain for more than 20 years before becoming the Topographic Engineering Center (TEC). Later, TEC would be renamed the Geospatial Research Laboratory (GRL).

The USACE Huntsville Division partnered with the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) in 1970 to create advanced facilities for testing vibrations on tactical equipment crucial for a DOD missile program. The result was the development of a cutting-edge shake table unparalleled in the DOD. By 1973, the Biaxial Shock Test Machine was operational and capable of controlled vertical and horizontal accelerations. CERL later upgraded to the Triaxial Earthquake and Shock Simulator, enhancing realism and investigations of earthquakeresistant materials.

WES engineers supported the exploration of the moon by studying and validating unconventional wheel designs for NASA’s Lunar Rover Vehicle. Engineers simulated lunar soil using a creative mixture of desert sand and crushed basalt. The research allowed NASA to down select the rover’s final wheel design, which debuted during the Apollo 17 landing. The research further galvanized WES’s reputation as an engineering leader and has been the foundation for the testing and development of rovers planned for future trips to the lunar surface.

During Operation Joint Endeaver in Bosnia in December 1995, WES Commander Col. Bruce K. Howard led a rapid response to predict flood levels on the Sava River, the site of a vital crossing for NATO troops. A team, including WES, CRREL and TEC personnel, built a watershed model despite limited data. Fieldwork confirmed the model’s accuracy to support flood control, bridge site selection and engineering data. The mission’s success led to the creation of the WES TeleEngineering program, which later grew to become the USACE Reachback Operations Center, still in operation today.