In July 1954 Downer replaced 20 senior contractor staff that he had inherited with people of this choosing, many from Morrison–Knudsen Co. A significant appointment was that of A. I. Smithies, a very experienced hydro construction engineer from Morrison-Knudsen as construction superintendent. With management in place the workfare was able to be reduced from the 1,107 when Downers took over, to 850. Under Downer's management the pace of construction increased with the weekly concrete pour rapidly improving. In the first week of October 1954 of concrete was poured, which had increased to poured over the course of the next week.