Almost 75 years ago, Sundt embarked on a top-secret project that forever changed the world. It started with a handshake agreement, no formal contract and, for just about everyone working on site, no idea what the work was about.
The U.S. government contacted our company on Dec. 1, 1942 looking for a contractor that could essentially construct a community, sometimes referred to as a secret city, in northern New Mexico. The project was so confidential that it was labeled “Job 444” in company records.
We were given a year to build a lab technical area, test site, 332 apartments, 12 civilian dormitories, 12 military barracks, an administration building, warehouses, service and mess facilities, medical and veterinary hospitals and schools.
Government officials wanted 20 percent of housing ready for occupancy by the end of January 1943 and technical buildings done by the beginning of February. Working at an unimaginable pace, we had 96 percent of the project complete by April 1943.
The work was challenging, and the location was remote. Access to the site required construction of a primitive access road that wouldn’t attract curiosity from locals and travelers. The road took its toll on trucks making deliveries and was only improved when government authorities anticipated 40- to 60-ton loads traveling on it as the project progressed.
Our work was complete in 1943, including security fencing, guard towers and gates at what was formerly the Los Alamos Ranch School. The facility and surrounding land were purchased by the U.S. government in November 1942. The school awarded its final diplomas in January 1943, and the Army took control of the property the following month.
In 1945, Sundt officials learned that the site, Los Alamos, was part of the Manhattan Project, which developed science that helped end World War II.
We were invited back to Los Alamos in 2000 to build, among other things, a fast-track emergency flood control project to protect the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The work resulted in a Build America Award for our company. The honor is given by the Associated General Contractors of America to the members who build the nation’s most impressive construction projects.