National Republican., 1883-08-03

ulsChhrEe HU ana near the Long Drlugu wiz
be increased, rather than diminished,
though the Washington channel be closed.
This will be done by deepening the river,
aud ut the same time cutting oii portion of
AlcNandcr's island at the south end of the
Long bridge, consequently, there Will be Ices
damage done by the floods than heretofore.
Major llains recommends that the Long
bridge be removed altogether or rebuilt with
wido spans upon piers that would offer the
least possible obstruction. Tho Virginia
abutment extends too far out into the river
and should be removed and tho bridge car
ried on piers for the distance of about four
hundred feet on the Virginia side. At the
same time portion OF Alcxauder's island,
on which this abutment stands, should be re-
moved. Another great objection TO tho pres
ont bridge is the large amount Of rip-rap
stone that is piled around the piers which
presents q formidable obstruction to the flow
of water If the land to be reclaimed above
and below the site of the causeway be con-
verted into a park, it is essential that the
railroad should cross it on a. elevated track,
sufficiently high TO allow vehicles to pass un-
der The estimated cost Of n snitablo struct-
ure will not be much less than ~ 100000.
The object of the appropriation made for
the improvement of the Potomac was, the
report states, threcfOld--tho Improvement of
navigation, the establishment oil the harbor,
and the raising of tho flats. TO accomplish
the most with the money available, $500, 900
was devoted to the dredging of II channel
about 400 feet wide and 20 feet deep at low
tide, from the deep water near Easby's point
10 the deep water off Giosboro' point. This
would give navigablc channel for the nc
COnmOdatiOn of the largest vessels. The
total area of flats to he reclaimed Is about $50
acres, of which about 127 will be occupied by
lakes
The report then refers to the advertisement
FOR proposals for drcdgingand filling the flats,
and the award of the contract tO Mr.. II. San.
ford Ross, and gives u detailed description of
tho method of carrying on the work which
has already been publishcd in THE REPUBLf-
CAN, NJ j. Hains then says: In order 10 do
pOsit the material on section railway was
started from point about 800 feet beyond
.ho line Of the slope protection and 100 feet
west of the sewer canal. The
specifications require that the foot Of the
slope which the material takes when de.
posted shall not be less than 100 feet from
the sewer canal This was necessary pre-
caution, i'll order to prevent the filling up of
the channel and the consequent stoppago of
,ho flow of the sewage from the great sewer
that pOurs its contents into the river ut the
foot of Seventeenth street. 81 1t is cX-
pocted that the railways already built or in
process Of construction will provide for the
distribution Of about 1,O00,00O cubic yards of
| material which will cover about 100 acres of
marsh to the depth of six feet. Other rail-
ways will be built as the space between the
lines now becomes filed up. The railways of
section / are stocked with twenty cars of ten
| yards capacity aud one eighteen ton locOmo-
| tive. A force pump was put on to facilitate
| the flow Of material and cause it to spread
out.
Two dredges we're put on in April on the
| channel above long bridge, one an Osgood's
| improved dipper drodge, the other a clam
shell. The capacity Of the dippcr is about
/
| four and Il half cubic yards. The dipper
dredgo lost considerable time from breakages
Of machinery and has thus far accomplished
| but little work. The other has done ftit
| work. Nevertheless, much time has bseh
lost by the hIeaking of spuds, polos chains
&c.
The total amount of material deposited oa
the ilats in section Iup to and including June
3O 1888, was about $4,000 cubic yards, in
elusive of that deposited near Easby's point
by the Potomac Dredging company
The work below the Long bridge is carried
on in a similar manner to that above the
/ bridge. About $4,000 cubic yards have been
deposited in section III. Total amount de.
posted on the flats up to June 3O 1883, about
100000 cubic yards. Aboat l3,0JJ lineal feet
Of railway have been built The road is SUBJ
atantially built on piles, many of them being
| fr0m sixty to seventy feet in length few
ess than fifty. The rolling stock is
| first of its kind. Five dredges have
bcen put upon the work, four OF
which are new. The dumping scows,
Eve in number, have proved to be too large,
for handy work: They are from 800 to SOC
cubic yards capacity, but the depth of water
Mt the approaches to the receiving basins is
| too shallow TO allow of their being loaded to
! thcir full capacity. Better progress could be
made with greater number of smaller scOws
| 1t is hoped the contractor will soon see the
necessity Of increasing his plant at work in
| the channel. The average daily amount of
work ought then to be not less than 6,0O0
| cubic yards.
Simultaneous with the work of dredging
| the channel and filing the flats, the fOunda-
| tion for the slope reVetmcnt or wall has beUn
| carried on. The foundation Of rip-rap placed
| in II mattrass of brush will form sufficient
| foundation, if at some future time solid wall
| should he erected. At the present time about
| 5000 lineal feet of trench has been finished,
aud about onc.third OF the ridge between
| the trench and the iive-ioot curve.
| The attention of congress should be called
to the necessity of taking prompt measures
| to construct retaining walls through the
| sewer canal. This canal is now 5000 feet
| long, but when the flats are built in it will be
3l00 feet. Unless retaining walls are
built the material used in filling the
flats will have to he kept at dis
tance from the canal, or else it will
i
from - foot of Seventeenth street, but it is
| merely II shallow ditch about sixty feet wide,
| with no retaining walls of any kind. The
mud bank on each side has n fiat slope, sup
porting a growth of vegetation that impedes
the flow of the sewerage. These walls should
| be built by the government He submits an
estimate of the cost for a pair of walls of
solid concrete, built ON pile and grillage
| foundations, which reaches sos lil. The
cost per lneal foot Of canal will bo SCI 30.
| The sewer extended according to the presen +
cost, will bo about $7S.53 per foot.
There are to be l2O acres of lakes between
| the sewer canal and the Long bridge. These
| lakes have been laid out chiefly with view
to utility, and can be modified if need be.
| This arrangement gives cheap mode of con-
struction. The lakes should be at least feet
deep. A greater depth, however, can be given
them should it be advisable in order to secure
cheap lilling About 100000 cubic yards of
material can be thus had, enough almost to
raise the fill in this section to the height of
feet above low tide
With the excavation of the lakes the con-
structon of sluico gates should be started
| When the section below the bridge is filed
the Washington channel above will be closed,
and an arrangement must be made to supply
fresh water H. order to prevent the water
from becoming offensive During the con-
struction of tho lakes u temporary canal may
connect the Washington and Georgetown
channels. This canal should be utilized
afterward as part of the lakes, and it should
bn lnpptcl wit this and in view