, 1892-09-09
THE IMPROVED HARBOH.

At last it has come, and the formal move
ment for the improvement of Olympia's
harbOr has been made by the advertising
for bids for the work. Congress has ap-
propriated $4,000 to start the dredging.
Whether or not it will end with this is
question. Plenty Of persistency and hard
work will insure us more. For the present,
however, it will get the work under way.
Much is to be done TO improve Olympia's
water front in accordance with the lines
laid down by the state har5or line COM
mission. For the present, only narrow
channel can be dredged, but that will be a
great improvement over the present wind
ing and uncertain waterway.
This, too, marks an advance in the
growth of the state capital. Only short
time since we were without railroad com
municatiOn and many other conveniences
and commercial advantages. In two years
new city has sprung up, and the time
will come when Olympia and many other
Puget Sound cities will be accommodating
ocean steamers at substantial docks of
stone, such as mark the harbors of large
commercial cities, 1t may be in the distant
future, but it will come just as certain as
have come the improvements and growth
of which we are already so proud. The
cities of the Northwest will not always be
satisfied with their planked docks Of
Piling. At not very distant day we will
look back with soorn on those "old-time
methods" Of bulkheading Wharves.
In improving Olympia's harbor it is the
intention to dredge a narrow channel at
first, large enough for boats to pass. This
will run from Third street to deep water.
In making this improvement, the con
struction of a large and heavy bulkhead
will first be necessary, and Captain Sy-
mons, of the board of United States en-
gineers, has prepared plans for this pur-
pose. With this built, the contract will be
let for dredging the channel, which will
run along the outer harbor line, about $50
feet west of the long wharf. The dirt will
be thrown over the bulkhead, and while it
is dredging the channel, it will at the same
time be improving and filling in the tide
lands. In addition to this, 70 per cent. of
the proceeds from the sale of tide lands,
reyerts to a separate fund for the improve
ment Of the harbor. From time to time
the dredging will continue, until another
bulkhead is built, and the channel is
widened to full width
Captain Symons, in his report to Briga-
dier-General Thomas L. Casey, of the
United States Army, says "The work of
constructing the 25O-foot channel with ba-
sin, estimates to cost 275, ,OOO-and the esti-
mate for the improvement of Olympia's
harbor by dredged channel 258 feet wide,
(bottom width) and 70 feet deep at low wa
ter, bulk-heads 42O feet apart, and basin
of equal depths is as follows:
7O,775 linear feet of piles att
16,705 feet, B. M, cross bracing
for basin bulkhead at $50 i'll
. place e..4;...;,...;............ 1884 10
bracing, bulkhead, at $40. ..... 1888 90
1000 cords Of brush at $3.50 in
,oBd place. ;....., .;,..;.....:..,. $500 90
1000 tons stone ballast at 50 in
place .............'...- 1000 90
1,l4L575 cubic yards excavation
at 20 cents dredged. ... 228, ,315 90
3CcC pounds iron spikes, at 10
cents in place. Observation-Disclosures. 200 90
Add 10 per cent for superintend-
ence and contingencies. . 24,525 80