On the southwestern curve of Texas, nestled along the Mexican-American border, lies a unique and hidden gem of a National Park. Mountains form a landscape of rugged beauty stretching to the canyons of the Rio Grande and beyond. It was here where the legends and lore of the cowboys and ranchers of the old west were formed and where the image of Texas was initially established. While the cattle they drove have long been absent, the plentiful green pastures and untouched landscape are still visible to this day. This is HECO’s next project: Big Bend National Park.
A land of mountains and rugged beauty. When people think of Texas, they think of Big Bend
Big Bend National Park, known as Texas’ Gift to the Nation, has remained a land where only the brave and desperate dare to tread. Imagine classic scenes from the Old West, and you have an idea of some of the history behind this extraordinary land. Before Big Bend became a National Park, it was home to some of the gritty cowboys of old. Some tried to make a living in the small nearby mining town of Terlingua, some were running from the law, and some simply wanted to homestead on the limestone ranges where no one would ever bother them. Dry and rugged terrain and the constant scorching sun made life extraordinarily difficult, but this was the price of freedom from the world and over 2,000 square miles of open range for cattle to graze. In 1944, the land was set aside for Public use and officially established as a National Park, forcing many to sell off their land and take their cattle elsewhere.
The plentiful green pastures of the Rio Grande and the almost untouched landscape are clearly visible to this day
Even today, the national park is difficult to get to and isolated from much of the Texas population. The nearest town with a population over 500 people is Alpine at 80 miles. El Paso represents the nearest major city and is still over 300 miles away. The unique landscape of the park covers a land mass of over 1,200 square miles and 800,000 total acres. Because of this and the parks aforementioned massive size, visitors cannot simply pass through in a day. Big Bend requires a full effort and commitment to get the most out of it. Those who do make the journey are greatly rewarded. The park itself is often considered three parks in one due to the three major environments of mountain, desert, and river landscape. Visitors in one trip can take part in rock-climbing, endless hiking, canoeing the Rio Grande, desert camping, horseback riding, and scenic exploration of hundreds of miles of road. It is ample opportunity for adventure like none other, and a chance to relive the glory days of the open range of the old west.
HECO Engineers has the opportunity to perform a task order for this incredible location. We will be serving as a subconsultant to Stantec on a massive project to rehabilitate and improve the water systems at Rio Grande Village, Chisos Basin, and Panther Junction, each key locations inside of Big Bend National Park. Since these water systems were built, traffic in the park has increased about 500%, and the water systems are in need of update to properly reflect this volume. When complete, the upgraded water systems will serve roughly 58% of the visitors and a large majority of staff as well.
Explore our National Parks Interactive Map for more projects like this
Bart Brooke took a recent site visit to the park to scope out the project. View his expert bio here
This project is part of HECO’s expansion to the Eastern United States. Read more here
Source:
https://www.nps.gov/bibe/index.htm