Evening journal., 1898-01-06
THIRTY-FOOT CHANNEL.
That is What Major Ray
mond Recommends.
IT WOULD COST ABOUT $5,0OO,ooo

THE ENGINEERS REPORT HAS
BEEN FORWARDED TO THE
SECRETARY OF WAR AND WILL
BE PRESENTED TO CONGRESS.
Major c. w Raymond, United
States engineer in charge of the inn
prOvement OF the Delaware river. sent
his report upon the proposed S0-feet
channel for the Delaware river to the
chief Of engineers of the army, az
Washington, late yesteday afternoon.
Il is expected that the report will be |
forwarded to the secretary of war; and |
by him TO Congress without delay, |
probably to-day. The report was made |
in accordance with an item in the last |
River and Harbor bill. directing a |
survey of the Delaware river with the |
idea of securing a channel thirty feet |
deep. The survey was made during |
the past Summer and Fall, and en-
tailed considerable work The report |
is a project in detail for the proposed |
channel, and it is accompanied by
maps and data.
Major Raymond's estimate OF the
cost of securing channel thirty feet
| deep at low water and 600 wide, be-
/ tween Petty's Island and deep water
in the bay, is a little more than $5,-
i 900. 900. OF this amount more than
/ $500, 900 is for the removal of rock at
Schooner Ledge and in the harbor be-
tween Petty's Island and Cramps yard.
| A small ledge was discovered at that
point during the progress of the work
Of improving the harbor The amount
of mud, sand, gravel and clay to be re-
moved is estimated at something more
than 32,000,000 cubic yards, and there
is. in addition, 10000 cubic yards OF
rock.
The project submitted by Major
Raymond provides that no material
shall be deposited in the river, as has
been done during the improvement Of
the harbor and some of the river inn
proyement. The estimate Is based upon
the material being placed on shore or
deposited in the bay, the plan being
that the material removed from the
upper part of the river shall be placed
on shore and that removed from the
lower part taken down to certain To-
calities of Delaware bay and deposited
there. The work will require several
miles Of dredging. Most of this will
be between Chester and Wilmington
and across the Dan Baker and Duck
I | Creek shoals, at the head of the bay.
! The work of dredging the 26-feet
D | channel was suspended last week for
| the Winter at the various points
=. where the contractors for the govern
ment have been at work. There has
D been secured a channel 26 feet deep and
e from 500 to COO feet wide across Dan
{ Baker shoal and Duck Creek flats, the
e worst distractions in the river. But il
q is not in use yet, because the Light
n | house Department has not placed th'
Il buoys to mark it. A depth of 26 fee
o has been secured at Cherry lslanC
n fats, but not the full width. There Is
e now therefore a channel 26 feet deel
a at low tide and of a navigable widtl
+ | between Philadelphia and Delawar'
bay, except at Mihlin bar and Schoone
!, Ledge shoal. At Schooner Ledge ther
n is plenty Of water in the western
Ia part of the channel, but the width il
not great. There is a foot or two les
10 than 26 feet at Mifflin bar
ie 1t was expected that the harbor i'm
Is provement work would be entirel.
"a completed by the end of the year. bu
floating ice during the week afte
~ Christmas so interfered with the dred
'u ges that it became necessary to sus
10 pend operations with only a very liz
sr tie work remaining to be done Thi
81 great improvement is practically fin
ished, and is more than a year ahea
n, Of the estimated time required by tn
III engineers. More than q 100000 cubi
yards Of material have been remove
at in the five years since the work wa
NJ commenced, and the cost has bee
10 nearly s3,500,000.
re There is twenty-six feet of water Z
low tide where Smith and Windmi
Islands once stood and a slice
100 acres has been tahen off Petty
lg Island. Along the Philadelphia from
ng from the Pennsylvania railroad bridg
1T, at Bridesburg, to Kaighn's Point, thel
r. is a channel at least twenty-six fe
ut, deep at low water and 1000 feet wild
'e- For a lesser width there is depth e.
re- coeding .hirty feet From the east ST,
w. Of the twenty-six feet channel, the
~ Is a depth sloping up to twelve feet
es, the Camden shore.
hn During the dredging a ledge Of 10,
Is was discovered opposite Cramps shi
yard, lying below the Old bottom
the river. which will have to be T
moved by another appropriation. FO
re- tunately the ledge lies we'll over t
he wards Petty's Island, and is not an in
be pediment to navigation.