Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-02-25
eAlvesros's GREAT ,ErrlEs.
A Remarkable narbor Engineering Work
Now Completed.


The Galveston Texas, jetties are com
pleted. The time for turning over to the
government being March !.
These jetties have cost Uncle Sam
eminent work ever undertaken was such
a striking and immediate success. The
Galveston jetties are the longest and
only that. but their construction has
solved one of the hardests propositions
harbor engineers have ever had to con-
tend with.
The city of Galveston is built at one
end of a narrow sand strip. two and one
half miles from the Texas mainland. A.ie
to the har1or is sapS from
Bolivar Peninsula. Originally. the en-
trance to this channel was obstructed by
Il sand bar. on which the depth of water
other bar on which there was 1S feet OF
water. For 20 years or more futile eltorIS
We're made to cut away the bars. In lSyo
the government. after making extensive
surveys approved plan for the building
of two great jetties, one called the north
ietty. jutting four miles out from Bolivar
other. called the south jetty, running SIX
miles out into the sea from the EASTERN
most end of Galveston island. THESE
jetties were to be built about niue
apart, and the plan was considered by
many engineers as being utterly unSatis-
factory. it being contended that with tne
1ettleS Du1lt at Sucn IL ulSldHCc dptti tiiE
waters would not be confined within y
space narrow enough to have any erect
toward securing away the par, but inc
government engineers persisted IN Ine.r
idea, and with the aid of the Congress
men from the West the Texas delegation
managed to get the money appropriated
for putting the work through.
Jetties are simply great walls of rock.
Those that are built here are expected to
endure for all time: The mountains OF
Texas have been chiseled to provide the
ST. tot tl,ncn
sea. and for nearly six years tram AFTER
trainload of rock has been hauled to Gal
weston from the interior to build these
ietties. For the first four years there
was but slight Improvement in the
depth of water. At times the soundinss
would show Il feet of water. and at other
channel would shoal up and the hopes of
those who believed in the jetty. system
would sink The further the jetties We're
changes of the channel. AT one time it
would be over near the north channel
the following week it would be near the
probably be as tortuous as a serpents
path. That some great CONFUSION was
resulting from the penning of the waters
within the walls of the jetties was evil
dent, but not made manifest until about
IS months ago. when the soundnSs
showed that the bars were, rapidly
the engineers reported increased depth of
water. Soon there was IS feet. then -
then 90 and so on up to the present time
Recently there were Is feet six inches
reported. but the conditions were I'M
usually favorable for high water. a storm
having backed up great amount of
water against the incoming tide. The
average depth of water week in and week
out is now 25 feet and the indications are
that this will slowly but surely increase.
Vessels drawing "a feet six inches have
crossed the bar without the slightest
trouble. and there is little doubt that the
battleship Texas. drawing about 4.3 feet,
will come inside and anchor in the road
or come to one of the wharveS.
The building of these jetties has been
watched by scientists the world over, The
contractors. O'Connor & Smoot have
success of these ietties that they have
been commissioned by the Mexican gov
eminent to build deep-water harbor at
Mazatlan at a cost of $1S,00O.000.
There have been four stages to the
work WORK, Of building the walls or rock y
railroad of standard gauge was bu.,.
This trestle railroa, was always -ept
we'll in advance of the other work. 2l A
and three feet thick, called an apron.
was laid as sort of foundation for the
ietty. the sandstone being dumped into
the sea from the cars run out on the
treste railroad. (3) An embankment of
sandstone rip-rap about 10 feet Vide on
top was laid on top of the apron. This
brought the ietty to above the water line,
"a Great granite blocks. set as closely
together as possible. were laid over the
whole mass of sandstone to keep it in
place and prevent the waters from wash.
ing any of it away. These granite blocks
weigh from two to ten tons each. and
make almost a solid granite wall exposed
to the tapping of the waves.
Each piece of construction work was
pushed along, in the numerical order
facilitate the laying of the apron" the
building of the apron to prevent the for
nation of eddies, and the demolition of
the jetties already built; the sandstone
rip-rap embankpent was the main work
of the structure and the granite blocks
coating the whole embankment were for
the extra solidity and enduring strength
they gave When completed the jetties
were about 80 feet wide at the base.
Their height varied according to the
depth of water in which they were built
What an amount of rock has been
dumped into the sea to form these jettie:;
can be judged from the figures already
given. If it is computed that the two
ietties are ten miles long: that they are
80 feet wide at the base and from ~ to Il
feet wide on top. it can readily be seen
make II built on land. More than 300 0J
tons of granite have been used simply for
the surface or outer coating of the jet
ties. More than 100000 tons of sandstone
rests beneath these great granite blocks
This stone would build more than lWo
cdifices of the size of the capitol at
The jetties are the great sight which
all visitors to Galveston are expected to
sec. Now. when there is a clear wide
channel from the ocean into Galveston
bay and the soundness and correctness OF
the original plans are established. it is
appreciated that if the walls of rock had
not been placed at least a mile apart the
waters. in the convulsion to which they
were subjected by being confined within
the jettes. would have found an outlet ~,
securing beneath the ietties themselves
With the jettes a mile apart and the
winds and tides having. free sweep within
those limits it seems plain that the pres
will, ~
only be maintained. but year by year
that great depth of water will be found
between those monster. walls of granite
that run far out into the blue waters OF
the gulf.