The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1882-04-26
Hsfk at Hell Gate.


1t is known in an indefinite wax that
Gsfs Gssgsl q o;o NsTtona' pGsPasins ing near hs
that Of the sammefof 1876 will seem insig-
nificaIft. Then the area of rock blown
up was abont three acres;. at the next
affair OF the kind about eleven acres of
rock will be treated to dynamite At
once.
As soon as the work of blowing up
Hallet's Point Reef was ended, General
Newton turned his attention TO Flood
Rock, still more important obstacle to
safe navigation than was Hallet's Reef.
The position of the rock will be seen by
reference to any map of the city. It
lies off Hallet's Point, to the northwest
of the reef blown up in 1876, and Is.
right in the center of what would be the
natural Hell Gate channel 1t marks
a reef of rocks covering about eleven
acres of the river bed. 1t was resolved
to treat this reef in precisely the same
manner which proved 50 successful in
the case of Hallet's Reef Work contin-
ued upon small, and uncertain appro-
priations until 1875, when 1t was suspend
ed for want OF money. In 1879 the old
plantrof drilling machines, boilers. etc.
brought to Flood Rock after work ut
Hallet'ss Reef was done, began 10 give
way, and it was not until 1880 that new
aud better machinery was at work. The
system followed Is exactly similar 30
about seven feet wide and six feet high
are cut eight feet apart, running at
right angles to each other, the result
being somewhat like q map of the city
with the streets running very closely 10
NHa hll,Ea A,&rr sr-a .rsa.
presenting solid columns of rock, eight
feet square, which hold up the roof OF
the mine. The reef Is irregular In
shape, with an extreme length of about
1,106 feet, and width varying from
600 to 200 feet. Atpresent about seven
acres of the reef have been honeycombed,
the work preceding at about the rate of
500 feet of gallery in month, the rock
having to be drilled and then blasted.
Then drilling and blasting goes on con-
stantly at Q depth of so TO 90 feet under
the water. During 1880, the number OF
linear feet cut was 4, ,S46, to effect which
il was necessary TO sharpen the drills
81, 7,0l6 times, to make 43, OH blasts, and
to remove 12,9 ,941' cubic yards of loose
rock. The wages paid the drillers
and helpers for this work amounted TO
$23, 3,847, "a and the explosives cost
Sl5.64O f.ita,.l -IFii r g ttla---4t -.i.- -
The depth below low water of the
floor of the lowest gallery Is sixty-four
feet, the depth of the galleries varying
with the depth Of the rock below the
surface. After the blast Is over, and
the loose rock has been cleared away,
there viii be depth of twenty-six feet
at low water. The thickness of rock
between the roof of the tunnels and the
bed Of the river is about thirteen feet.
When the time comes for raising the
whole roof at once charges of dynamite
viii be placed through the mine and
exploded by electricity.
The explosion ct Hallet's Reef was
followed by five years Of dredging TO
remove the loose rock. This was done
by the Atlantic Dredging Company,
who have taken out about eighty five
thousand tons of broken rock. The
entire reef has now disappeared, and
there Is uniform depth OF twenty-six
feet at low tide, where six years ago was
one of the terrors Of navigation through
the Gate.
Besides the large reefs that have made
Hell Gate so dangerous, there are sew
eral rocks which can be treated with
doses of dynamite without .resorting to
tunnelling. Several have already been
destroyed, among them Ways Reef,
Shell Drake Rock, Coenties Reef, Heel
taps Rocks, Diamond Reef, in the East
River, and some smaller obstacles to
vessels. Drilling was begun long ago
upon Pot Rock and the Frying Pan
Rocks, both of which reefs can be re-
moved at any time. On the north side
of the channel are two small rocks,
known as Great Mill Rock and Little
Mill Rock they are not in the way of
vessels, and will be made the support
for q dixie between the two rocks, made
of the material from Flood Rock.
The work of Improving the East Riv-
er and He'll Gate was decided upon in
1867, and General Newton began work
in 1869. His original estimate of the
cost was S5, 5,00o, 900. Up to the 30th Of
June, 1881 the appropriations have been
%, 800, 900, and the expenses 81. SIG 900.
General Newton is confident that the
entire work can be finished without
exceeding the original estimate, unless
constant Interruptions, due to lack Of
money, interfere with the work and
scatter the men. About four years more
viii be necessary to complete the whole
whole work If the tunnelling at Flood
Rock goes on sufficiently fast to allow
the final explosion to occur about two
years hence. The present appropria-
ton for the work viii be exhausted in
less than two months, and unless Con-
gress makes another appropriation at
once the men who have learned to. do
the work will be dispersed, the machin-
cry win deteriorate, and when work be-
gins again puch time and money win
be wasted IA teaching new men.-N. Y.
EceDisg Post.