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.
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. Thus began an epic journey
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, and there will be still bigger jobs in years to come.
1964 First mass-transit project
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system in the San Francisco area. In 1976, it becomes the first totally new rapid transit system to be completed in the United States in 40 years and significantly eases traffic.
1987 Surviving a global downturn
Bechtel gets involved in completing the Channel Tunnel, connecting England and France. One of the century’s largest engineering and construction projects and the world’s largest privately financed infrastructure project.
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 network expansion for a major US wireless carrier.