Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1895-12-05
CHICAGO'S CANAL.
1t Is Hard to Grasp the Vastness OF
the Undertaking.

1t Is Hard to Grasp the Vastness OF
the Undertaking.
The drainage canal which Chicago is
building between il and Lockport is near
ly twenty-nine miles long and is a won
derfu undertaking. Work on it is d.
vided into twenty-nine sections. Given
under contract to twenty different and re-
sponsible firms, the work on all these
subdivisions is in full progress, and on
two or three of them-and that in the
most difficult rocky parts already fin
ishcd.
The width of the great trench at the
bottom is nowhere less than 10 feet on
the first nine sections from Chicago,
while on other sections il will be 2O2
feet. to he reduced again to 16O feet. A
large part of the excavation has to be
made through solid ledge of limerick,
underlying the track of the Desplaines
River. The width of the upper edges of
the huge ditch will vary from 1872 to 305
feet. the former width prevailing only
on the ten solid rock sections of the ex-
cavatons. where the walls are vertical
and not sloping down as on the remain
ing nineteen ubdiysions. which are ex-
cavated by digging, shovelng and dredg-
ing.
The clear water depth will be twenty
two feet. This will be uniform through
out, even at the lowest possible condi-
ton of Lake Michigan. which will feed
the canal ut the rate of 100000 cubic feet
minute and later. when the bottom
width of the first nine sections shall have
been enlarged to 300 feet, ut the rate of
1000 cubic feet of water IL minute.
From the estimates recently made there
will have been removed by 1897, when it
is expected the canal will be completed,
40.O10, 1870 cubic yards of earth, or in
other words nearly two-thirds of the ex-
cavation of the newly opened Baltic canal,
five-sixths of the Manchester canal, two
fifths of the SueZ canal and three-tenths
of the abortive Panama ditch. OF the
40, 0,000,000 cubic yards of excavated soil,
clay, gravel, broken stone and crushed
primeval rock fully 12.00O.O0 cubic yards
alone will belong 10 the latter class, max
ing the Chicago enterprise really unique
one.
A stroll along the works is highly
novel. One sees big dredges. fianked by
flying bridges and gigantic scoops, lad
ling up whole loads of dirt at one sweep.
One sees leviathans of machinery ex-
pressly invented and built TO dispose Of
the loose stone rubble and blasted pieces
of rock along the second half of the
big Ditch" Under the name of "can-
tilevers." they tower like oblique gallows
of antediluvian monstrosity over the land
scape, loosening. lifting and removing
tons of blasted rock with no more exertion
than that with which children handle
their toys.
Along with these and kindred cyclopic
devices, there is whole army train Of
steam, gas. water and electric motors, to-
gether with from 5000 to 5000 men, 600
teams, numberless graders, carts and
trucks, and finally an array of blasting
machinery. needing five tons of dyna-
mite as their daily bill of fare. During
one month recently l. 1906 cubic yards
of earth and rock were excavated and the
cost of this one months work amounted
to $695,O55.
In the beginning the cost of the work
was estimated at between $4O, 1000, 900 and
$45, 100000. but it is now estimated that
at least $30,000,00O will suffice to com
plete the work.