Our History
We are committed to leaving a legacy of progress by developing local skills for sustained economic opportunity and volunteering our time and talent to the communities where we work.
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1898
The early days
In 1898, a nearly bankrupt 25-year-old Bechtel and his pregnant wife, Clara, left Peabody, Kansas, and headed 100 miles (161 kilometers) south in search of construction work and new opportunity.
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1931
Bechtel's first megaproject
Hoover Dam—officially dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in September 1935—represents a pivotal event in the history of Bechtel. There have been bigger projects.
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1964
First mass-transit project
Hoover Dam—officially dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in September 1935—represents a pivotal event in the history of Bechtel. There have been bigger projects.
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1987
Surviving a global downturn
Bechtel gets involved in completing the Channel Tunnel, connecting engineering and construction projects and the world’s largest privately financed infrastructure project.
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2016
Building a new century
Bechtel becomes the first engineering and construction company to embrace Six Sigma, a data-driven methodology for improving quality and begins a nationwide.