Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-02-10
IMPROVING THE spoToMAc
. 'I,j!
q liz
MAJ Aliens Report of the Operations
During Last Month.
voc II
.,l fl
work Wns Interfered With by Cold
weather and Ice-Improxc-
ment to Navigation.

Major Charles ]. Allen has made a renort
10 the chief of engineers of operations for
the Improvement Of the Potomac river ar
washington during the month of January
ne says that the construction of the SEA
wan III the TIDAL reservoir was continued
whenever the weather and the stage of
the tide would permit The foundation hed
was prepared, and the lower mart of the
wall laid to height of % feet above low
tlde 1or distance of 800 feet The total
length of the wall around the reservoir
VIII DE about $500 linear feet. OF this < ono
linear feet have been completed and I 4oo
parity completed. The river was frozen
over January =, but the ice in the channels
; was not sufficiently heavy to interrupt nav.
isdt.on. II was soon broken IN and mass
eu out OF the channels January % n ~
.iual reservoir the ice reached a thickness
VI u hae Liches, and remained until Jannary
tha ane ueu'ery OF building stone, under
me contract of c. G. Smith &. SON VIC
delayed by the ice and onJv o10 orhio
yaros were delivered during the mouth
me reservoir outlet has been Dractica1 iv
Improvement to Navigation.
"heh the present project was adopted"
says Major Allen, 1.-THE GEORGETOWN channe,
was narrow and crooked and had not snf4;-
Gent depth to accommodate commerce and
'he washington channel was shoa1 and mar
low. The flats in front of the citv were
alternately exposed and covered nv the tide
IN execution of the project there has been
oredSed channel from $50 to 55O feet vii.
ano ~ 1eet deep through the bars between
georgetown and Giesboro' Point IA this
channel has filled I'D above Iono hrid,,a ny :.
mas Deen redredged here several times and
q Iie1illhs dike mas been built with a view of
reouclng the deposit. In the Washington
dradrred .ne navigation channel has been
oreased to width of 400 feet and a denth
vi ~ Ieet between the Long bridge and the
JUNCTION 81 the Washington and Virginia
channels. The area between the navigation
$4,000 anu ~ me wall on section Ill has been
ana deepening of the Virginia channel below
tile Long bridge, SO as to facilitate the dis
eharge OF freshets and prevent overflow IN
d dne cry IS stun incomplete. The material
dredsed from this channel is to be deposited
on section III. All dredged material is de-
posted on the flats, and the entire reclaimed
area oi oSi acres has been raised to height
81 rom TO IL feet above low tide. The to-
TAI amount or material deposited on the re-
Claimed area is about 10. 6S1 apO6i cubic yards.
me sea wall on the margin of the reclaimed
/ area mas been nearly completed along the
Virginia front and the Washington channel
front and is well advanced along the mar
gin OF the tidal reservoir" Il %
The Wrecked Lady df the Lake.
~1' &,iioAi iePoflS tnatt the removal OF
the wreck of the steamer Lady of the Lake,
IN the channel at the Clyde lin6 wharf, was
continued during the month. under the con-
tract of Johnston & Townsend The work
proceeded slowly, however, being retarded
by cold weather ard ice, wq,ichftmade.it diff
neuit for the diver to worla adv Antageously.
MAJ. Alien says that thes method of re-
novai ADOPTED by the contractors-that Of
breaking up the wreck into comparatively
snal pieces with dynamite and raising
these with a derrick and a. pile driver-has
method. During the month the remaining
machinery, including the engine and the
W walk frame was removed and
also a length Of about thirty feet of The
keel, in doing which 800 pounds of dyna-
mite We're used. There remains to be re-
moved moved about i7o feet of keel, with the ad-
many pieces Of the sides deck timbers.
ETC. 1t Is expected to complete the re-
| noval CT the wreck this month