Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-02-23

provement, not only in respect to navigation,
but also with reference to its sanitary effect on
the city OF Washington and the possibility of re-
| claiming the swamp and marsh lands along the
water front. The board consisted OF the chief
OF engineers, the superintendent Of the coast
survey, the engineer in charge CT public build
ings and grounds, Gov. A. R. Shepherd and
Carlisle Patterson. The board submitted three
pians The one recommended for adoption.
provided Tor channel Of the harbOr which was
to have depth Of % feet at mean low tide up
to the Aqueduct bridge, and sufficient width to
allow OF easy handling of vessels and the dis
Charge OF the heaviest ireShets. The CITY front
was to be be moved ont t. the edge of the Viz
GINA chan;iel and all the flats were to be re-
claimed from overflow. In 1873 the House of
Representatives passed resolution directing
the JccTetary Of War to cause an examination Of
the flats for the purpose of asceitanng the
| feasibility OF erecting dixie along the western
c'ge OF the hats. Col. /. L. Casey. cor1S of en-
cinecrs waa assigned the work and in his re-
pert submitted plan for dkiag. without. how
ever. committing himself in favor Of the project
lie stated 1T Is entirely practicable to build this
dixie. but it IS difficult to predict the effect this
improvement will have On the sanitary c0ndi-
ton Of the city" The District Commissioners
IN their report for the yea? ending June Seth
1873 called attention to the condition Of the
river front, and asked the Immediate attention
Di tbiiNTttSs 10 the matter. MAJOR iTlnIng, the
Engineer Commissioner proposed plan modify
ing III certain respects TIE plan OF 1872. which
was 20 move the entire city front 10 the Virginia
Channel by nilInG iii all the intervening
space Major Iwining's plan provided
siuic:hg basins for purifying the Wash
lngton cIanhei which We're to remain
open as far as the Long bridge. The portion OF
the reclaimed land above tie sewer canal he
proposed to divide into lots. extending the
streets TO the bulk head line and 70 lay out the
portion between the sewer canal and the Long
bridge INTO Il park. with ornamental lakes
which were TO furnish the water for purifying
the Washington Channel. March Sd ISL Con
gr"ss directed survey of the river to be made
This survey. which has already been mentioned.
was made by Mr.. 5. I. Albert who submitted
plans and estimates differing frcm Major
Iwininga mainly in details. In January 1882
board OF engineers. consisting OF Col. Q. A.
Gilmore and !.ieut. Coils. c. b. COmstocll and
". =. Craghill. was convened for the purpose
OF making thorough investigation OF the
matter considering all plans proposed, and
deciding upon the most advisable one to be
carried out. number Of plans were proposed
in addition to those already described
one was to reclaim the areas proposed
by Twning and Albert lat instead of doing il
by filling. to build dixie around the area to be
reclaimed. The interior was to be drained by
small carals. Another plan was to dredre out
the entire !lats and make a large lake. This
plan DID not meet with Very serious consideration.
ing cfthe material. The amount of mat erialto be
eX2avated. to prevent the growth of grass was
estimated at 20 NetO cubic yards This amount
bore no reference to the Virginia side AMI the
Eastern branch. Continuous dredging would
be required. The board Of engineers gave very
careful examination to every plan presented
that appeared at all feasible and their report
was looked forward to with intense interest by
the citizens OF Washington. for upon it
centered all their hopes of getting lid of
MI 10 fIg+c
ment of navigation and bpttering the health of
the city. The plan which the board recon-
mended was. as has bean stated, a combination
OF the plans suggested by Major Twini1g ana
Engineer Albert. 1t included the haIt.r and
shore lines of Mr. Abert'S plan, from r,asby's
Point to the arsenal. and the low grade filling
and surrounding embankment Of that plan
below Long bridge, with cheaper revertment
together with Major Twining's high grade fill
ING. and sluicing ponds between s4le Long bridge
and Easbys point. The report Of the board
was submitted to Congress. and on the 2d of
August. 1882. an appropriation of 100000 was
made Tor beginning the long needed and much
wished tor Improvement.
FRESHETS.
Any plan Of improvement which does not
make allowances for the freshets which are
liable to occur every year is necessarily faulty.
Strong objections have been raised on that score
to the project which is now being carried out.
on the ground that with the channel narrowed
the danger will be increased. If the width of
the river were to be reduced. with the depth re-
naming the same, there would be good grounds
for the objection. 1t is well known principle
that water flows faster in deep channels than in
shallow ones. If, therefore, instead OF dis
charging through two channels at Long bridge
the water is all concentrated into one of them,
and the area Of the cross section of that one
made as great or greater than the
two combined the discharge would be
greater, and the danger from freshets
CORRESPONDENCE lessened. Any plan of
Improvement which contemplated the closing
OF the Washington channel without increasing
the dlschargfng capacity of the Virginia channel
would OF course be open to strong objection |
W Whenever there is any large amount of ice in
the river there is always danger from freshets
Heavy rams or great change Of temperature
cause the ice to break up suddenly. Unable to
nnd sufficient outlet, it becomes gOrged by the
many distractions offered in this vicinity and
the pent-up waters, unable to escape through
the usual channels. are backed up into the city
limlts. often oecasioning heavy damage to
but they will do less damage when
the improvements are completed than hereto
tore.
THE LONG BRIDGE
The Long bridge undoubtedly has much to do
with the disastrous results of our freshets. par
ticulariy that part OF the bridge under water |
The piers of the bridge in the freshet stage
stand obliquely to the current, making obstruc-
ton greatest when it should be least The
large amount Of rip-rap stone piled around the
piers tends to largely decrease the discharging
capacity OF the channel, and is consequently !
formidable obstacle. The causeway of the |
bridge NO doubt adds greatly to the difficulties;