Up until the 1930s, Griffith Company was engaged primarily in paving the city streets of greater Los Angeles and San Diego, with occasional forays into Orange, Riverside and Ventura Counties. We sent road crews down to Wilmington, Long Beach and San Diego as early as 1904. As part of a 1923 Civic Improvement Program, we paved 5th Street in San Pedro. In 1934, we were awarded a contract to regrade and repave a section of Wilshire Boulevard. That same year, the Company also worked on a stretch of Pacific Coast Highway from Oceanside to Encinitas. And in 1940, we helped transform a former cow path overgrown with sage brush into Sepulveda Boulevard.

The creation of the Santa Ana Freeway served as an extension of the Hollywood Freeway, providing a vital six-lane freeway allowing drivers to travel northwesterly or southeasterly. Griffith Company was awarded the task of grading and paving a new section of the freeway totalling nearly four miles. We finished two weeks ahead of schedule.

For years, the Ridge Route — a 44-mile perilous section of historic Highway 99 — had been the only direct highway connection between Los Angeles and the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys. Heavy truck traffic competed with touring motorists for the route’s minimal space, resulting in increasing accidents. In a massive reconstruction plan initiated by the Division of Highways, 23 miles of Highway 99 were reconstructed and modernized into a four-lane divided freeway. Our crews increased the pavement width to modern standards and built a central division strip to separate north- and south-bound traffic. Our role in the project helped transform a dangerous, winding route into a safe, modern state highway.

One of Los Angeles’s most famous landmarks, the Hollywood Freeway has origins dating back to the mid 1920s. The project turned out to be a tremendous undertaking spanning the terms of three California governors. To complete these 10 miles, crews had to clear the way a densely developed portion of the city. Crews also had to construct a four-level structure and interchange roadway system. In addition, the Freeway intersected some of the heaviest and most expensive utility installations, requiring crews to reconstruct pipelines, powerlines and telephone lines.

Griffith Company was one of three contractors called upon to help solve one of the worst and most dangerous bottlenecks in Southern California, located on Highway 466. The project asked for the construction of 12 miles of the four-lane highway between Bakersfield and Bear Mountain. Using thousands of pounds of explosives to cut through ridges, crews removed millions of cubic yards of rock and dirt. In temperatures soaring past 100 degrees, workers operated one of the largest hard-rock drills available at that time. Due to the lack of water in the mountainous area, 12 miles of 8-inch water line and 6 reservoirs and pumping stations were built to bring in water, boosting it 2,000 feet above sea level.

A structural engineering contractor since its inception, Griffith Company offers a legacy that includes a number of bridges built for public works. The first contractor in Mission Viejo—then little more than a cattle ranch—we built the bridge that opened the area to development. In 1950, we finished construction of a reinforced concrete open spandrel arch bridge, 434 feet long with an arch span of 220 feet. This bridge, at Penasquitos Creek in San Diego, provided a critical link in the newly completed U.S. 395.

To build the acqueduct and delivery system, an army of 11,000 laborers, mechanics, shovel operators, truck drivers and technicians toiled in the merciless desert sun. The single largest work opportunity of the Great Depression, the aqueduct project employed more than 35,000 people over an eight-year period. Griffith Company built 12.79 miles of the Colorado River Aqueduct — more miles than any other single contractor. We are proud to have played a role in this tremendous and important undertaking.

Once finished, Shasta Dam backed up the Sacramento River for 35 miles, turning it into a reservoir to catch the abundant rainfall. At the time of construction, the dam’s magnificent spillway created the world’s largest artificial waterfall, nearly three times the size of Niagara Falls. Our crews started and completed construction amid environmental, political and economic turmoil, including rumors of impending war. With no labor strikes, and a minimal rate of accident or injury — quite a feat for an undertaking this size — Pacific Constructors built one of the state’s, indeed the nation’s, greatest engineering marvels. Griffith Company is proud to have played such an important role in this accomplishment.

The dam was constructed to capture and store water as it headed toward the ocean, then deliver the water to areas that needed it most. Once completed, Friant Dam created Millerton Lake, a reservoir with a capacity of 520,000 acre-feet of water. The retained water was then diverted for irrigation in the San Joaquin Valley via two canals. To furnish the massive amounts of aggregate for the dam and canals, our crews built an automated, electrical rock plant considered very sophisticated for its time. We also constructed a private railroad to convey the aggregate from the plant to the site.

Griffith Company was awarded the challenging contract, which ultimately totaled $8,800,000. In mid-construction, Pearl Harbor came under attack. The U.S. suddenly found itself fighting the war on two fronts, requiring even more trained pilots. Griffith Company learned that its crews would need to accommdate more trainees, and do so quickly. We increased our work force to 709, including 378 carpenters and 222 laborers. Due to the emergency nature of the project, the buildings had to be constructed simultaneously. Using innovative time- and material-saving techniques, at peak production our crews completed seven two-story barracks and six one-story buildings every day.

In 1923, the airport now known as John Wayne Airport was a single private landing strip built on land owned by the Irvine Company. Today, John Wayne Airport is Orange County’s only commercial airport, servicing close to 10 million passengers a year. Many of those passengers take off and land on runways and taxiways built by Griffith Company. Griffith Company’s numerous contracts with John Wayne Airport date back to 1940, the year we built the original runway. Within the past decade, we have resurfaced the entire main runway, in addition to building large taxiway areas and perimeter roads around the airport.

Once little more than a bean field, Los Angeles International Airport is now one of the world’s major air transportation hubs. Over the past half-century, Griffith Company has completed a number of contracts with Los Angeles International Airport. In 1958, we completed the airport’s first jet strip concrete runway as well as American Airlines’ jet maintenance apron. Between 1958 and 1959, we completed two runways. Our LAX projects list also includes all the taxiways on the far side of the airport, United Airlines jet parking, two new concourses, as well as perimeter roads on the backside of LAX.

Griffith Company was the original contractor for Lido Isle, a coastal community in Newport Beach. Our crews laid the groundwork for the area’s development, building the sea walls, bridge, infrastructure, piers and roads. This was also the first project in Southern California to be built with underground dry utilities. The early construction we completed on Lido Isle helped transform this barren land into a forerunner of the masterplanned development.