PDF - 9Mo - Grande Dixence SA

GD. P.17The pace of work was intense: 11 hours of labour byday and 10 hours at night. But everything possible wasdone to reduce the hardships on site, and make thegeneral environment as pleasant as possible. The accommodationwas completely different from the temporaryhuts of construction sites at the time. Duringthe winter of 1953-1954, an imposing building wasconstructed from prefabricated blocks. The workersnicknamed it the Ritz! The Ritz hotel and restaurant stillwelcomes visitors and ramblers today at the foot ofthe dam.Thanks to these excellent arrangements, the accidentrate was extremely low for a site on such a scale.Unfortunately, despite every precaution, it was not possibleto avoid tragedy completely. The most seriousaccidental injuries were caused by the collapse of theCheilon tunnel calotte and by an avalanche on 16February 1961 that killed three guides on guard duty.The dam was completed on 22 September 1961…3 years ahead of time. Some 500 million Swiss francswere paid out in wages over 11 years.A social service, entertainment, a weekly film show, alibrary, and games rooms were provided for the workforce.But the men did not simply wait for everythingto be offered to them on a plate. They got organized,established a brass band, a gymnastic society, choirs,football teams. Every winter, they organized a ski race:the Miners’ Trophy.Fionnay-Nendaz tunnel, mine-blasting, 1958 Le Chargeur gallery, vibration of concrete, 1955