Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-07-26
WORK AT THE DRAW PIER.
Progress of the improvements at
the Bridge.
The Cofrerdam Nearly Completed
The Pumping Apparatus In Piace-
Some Estimates.

The Davenport Democrat states that
but small section of the work OF
the cofferdam around the draw pier at
the Rock Island bridge remains to be
built around the lower end of the pier,
and the inclosing wall will then be fin.
ished, It is a twelve foot cofferdam
built of plank driven down to the rock
bottom of the river. braced with string
ers running traversely to the planks, and
the two sides being connected by rods
of iron bolted at either end. The space
between the sides is flied in with mud
dredged from the bank of the government
island. The upper bulkhead is braced
upon its lower side by number of cribs
filled with rock and sunk. About sew
enty men are furnished employment at
present. A twelve-inch centrifugal pump
is in place, and it is hoped to have it at
work by Aug. 1. 1t will then lay bare
the bed of the river enclosed by the dam
in about seventy two hours. Not long
after August l building operations will
be commenced and the walls will rise
rapidly. About 600 yards of the Joliet
limestone to be used in their construction
is on hand now. having been unloaded
near the arsenal building. Some 8 300
yards will be needed in all The big
blocks are all fitted and marked, and will
go into place rapidly.
The Democrat continues: Between the
cofferdam and pier is space OF eight
feet. This will be filed with trestle work
and track which has already been laid
along the cribs below the upper bulkhead
will be extended upon it. A steam der
rick viii lower the blocks of stone from
the bank to trucks upon the track below,
which will then be run out TO the pier
upon the track. Here four crane der
ricks worked by hand. two on each side
of the bridge. will receive the blocks and
place them in position. By the middle OF
November it is hoped to have the LAST
course laid on draw pier which Uncle
Sam will have every reason to be proud
of.
The temporary bulkhesd at the power
pool has been repaired and Yesterday
for the first time the foundation of the
new draw. which has been covered so
long. was laid bare. Tremendous OBJ
stacles were overcome in the work of
repairing the break. as this had to be
done when the river was at its recent
high stage. The water poured through
| the aperture in boiling torrent, and the
work of sinking cribs and plsnking them
required an immense amount of exertion
and no little skill in management. About
twenty-five teams and sixty men are at
work at this point the teams and ma
jority of the men being engaged in renov
ing the mud and sand which has washed
into the space between the two dams
| since the break. There are 10000 yards
of this debris to be removed, large part
of it the finest OF building sand.
The work of laying stone upon the dam
will begin early in August. with proba-
bility of completion before the year 1891
closes. 1t will stand in the river eight
feet below the site of the former dam,
extending across in the same direction,
and will be 700 feet in length. Cleve-
land sandstone is used here, 100 yards
in all, and the twelve arches will contain
500 600 bricks.