Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1897-11-01
WORK ON THE HENNEPlN.

WORK ON THE HENNEPlN.
Pushing Operations on the UrPsr Eed OF
tho Cspsl.
A representative Of the Davenport
Democrat. who has been over the
ground. says there are 900 men snc
800 teams employed in the upper
section Of the Hennepin canal with
two large graders, two steam shove's,
pile drivers. etc. The Democrat
says:
ION the FIRST two mile sections,
counting from the upper end of the
Hennepin. all the principal work has
been done. The banks have been
formed, the locks have been built.
and now it only remains to complete
the slope paving there, to hang the
lock gates and build the lock keep
ers' houses, and to erect the high
way viaducts. and open the mouth
of the canal into the Illinois river.
"All the upper eastern section Of
the Hennepin, running from the Illi-
nois river to the junction with the
feeder, q. distanse of % miles. is un-
der the direction of Maj. James c.
Long, assistant engineer. The rest
OF the IS miles of mainline, amount
ing to 40 miles, and the feeder line,
% miles more, 76 miles in all, is in
the hands of Capt. L. L. Wheeler,
who built the lower section whils q
resident of Milan, and . frtque
visitor to this city. He now holds
his headquarters at Sterling, where
the feeder enters Rock river for the
purpose of taking water from it for
the supply of the canal waste. The
headquarters Of Maj. Long are at It's
kilwa, 60 miles east of here on the
main line OF the Rock Island road.
It Is under Maj. Longs direction
that the work Of today. just mem
toned, is proceeding. Capt. Wheel
er is still working on right OF way
agreements and contests, securing
the right to Uncle Sam to begin
work on still more canal trunk and
feeder lire.
1.-The canal will be no bar to the
highways that cross it. They will
all be carried over it on bridges that
will clear the water by 173 feet. They
will be permanent in place. high
enough for everything TO pass under
them. They will be built with mas.
sive coacrete abutments, and long
extended earth fills, at easy grade,
with plenty of breadth on top. Some
noveltios may be introduced in the
lock gates on the eastern end. Maj.
W. L. Marshall, corps Of engineers,
in charge of the entire Hennepin
work, has designed gates that lift.
When they are open they lie Nat on
the bottom Of the canal lock, and are
raised into place instead OF
of being swung into place. IS the
gates on this end are operated. The
lockkeepers' houses that have been
built on this end of the canal are
very commodious and comfortable
dwellings, with neat lawns surround
ing them. One of them, on the sec
ond 4mile section, stands in the
middle of Bureau creek. That Is, il
Stands on the ground that has been
filled into that creek, the creek hav.
ing been diverted from its channel
for three quarters of q mile. The
canal wanted the creek bed for its
house, and the creek had to vacate
1t may try to reassert its old claims
some time when it is on q fresh. but
the outer bank of the canal next to
it has been slope paved to the top,
and the creek will probably stay
where it is. At several points
along the first 16 miles of the cana
the creek has been thus turned out
of its channel to make room for tn,
latter"
"a week or so ago. at the office O
Maj Marshall in Chicago, contract
were let to cover the next Smile sec
ton. and the contractors there arr
beginning to get their outfits on tn,
ground, and may be at work BY thil
week. John j. McCaughey, Of Sum
NIT, ILL.,, takes miles II and 10 a
the exceedingly low bid of $.O169I
lper cubic yard, his contract amount
ing on estimate, to $17. Jos. 80. Th'
Globe Construction company, Of Gin
cinnati, o., takes miles 10 to % in
elusive. their bids running from
s.O9S3 to $.O97 per cubic yard, ant
their contract aggregating 1892,
O02.SO. Il. c. Cushing & Co., o.
Chicago, have mile "a at $3.50 pei
yard. their contract amounting Il
S.277. H. A. Boediker & Co o
I Chicago, have the contract for three
lockPits and foundations at e26. 239
and Coyan & Pound, of Chicago
have the contract for building on,
culvert, to cost $l2. 289 These con
tracts aggregate $'95.904 20. Ths
contractors have until the fall o
1899 TO finish this work.
Try Aliens Foot.Iuao.