Bechtel the Top Secret Government needs a major construction project 01 management of a large installation, it frequently turns to this privately held, family-run company.
In Bechtel’s promotional literature, they point with pride to some -I I he projects they have built: Hoover Dam, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, the “Chunnel” between England and France, and ih«’ Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) System. For some reason, they downplay the fact they manage installations such as the Nevada Test -Hi’ (see NEVADA section), have offices in areas (like Oak Ridge, Tennessee) where the Top Secret Government is the only game in town, iikI have built some of the most highly classified facilities in America.
Bechtel was founded in 1898 and today has over 41,000 employees worldwide, with revenues in recent years topping $14 billion. It is pivate company mainly owned and managed by the Bechtel family, HI hough some prominent outsiders with government connections (like l”iiner Secretary of State George Shultz) have served as CEO and on llmir board.
Bechtel has special expertise in the construction of large under-riound facilities, as demonstrated by their participation in the “Chunniel” project. In fact, the company authored a report entitled I‘search Report for Tomorrow’s Needs in Tunneling and Excavation” I’H the National Science Foundation. Besides the usual tunneling nu’lhods (water jets, various types of drills, borers, and hammers, Hi .), the report also discussed such methods as lasers, plasmas, mi-i mwaves, electron beam guns, and “electrical disintegration.” Since Hcchtel is a private company, it does not have to detail its income “iirces and projects as a publicly traded company must. But it’s vir-in.illy certain that Bechtel has been involved in some major “black” 11 instruction projects.
