Buena Vista Pumping Plant, near Bakersfield, California, is an important part of the California Aqueduct System. The pumping plant lifts water over the Tehachapi Mountains north of Los Angeles. These photos show the deep excavation and construction of the foundation.
The pumping plant was constructed at the bottom of a 200-foot deep excavation in the desert alluvium in 1968. So great was the stress relief due to the excavation that the soil at the bottom moved upward 30 inches as the excavation was made.
This photo shows the final stage of excavation, ready for construction of the pumping plant foundation.
At this stage the forms for the base slab have been constructed, the steel rebars have been put in place, and the concrete is being poured using a bucket suspended from the boom of a crane.