Union Electric Power and Light stepped in with engineering firm Stone & Webster from Boston, Massachusetts. It designed and constructed Bagnell Dam in one of the most unlikely spots along the Osage River. Many thought the $30 million project would be a disaster after the stock market crash of 1929, but it was completed. Employment during the lengthy construction proved to be a boost to many families in the area, as well as the hundreds of workers attracted from other areas of the country. By early 21st-century standards, all construction was done by hand, and the equipment used in the construction was quite primitive. The construction of Bagnell Dam was completed and Lake of the Ozarks was a full reservoir in fewer than two years.