The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1899-11-15
CLOSING DOWN.
Work on the Locks and Dams
About Over

IHs II lTm Nclt IUVAiuE 8ltcf III ft8ds
They Say about the Present Condi-
ton Of Affairs-Weli Satisfied with
what Has Been Done-Future Plans.
Messrs.C. /. Mcdonald and G. T.
Fople, OF Pittsburg, who are members
of the firm OF Mcdonald, Fogle d Co.,
who have The contract for the river
Improvements betweeu this place and
Fairmont are IN this place tor the
work OF the winter months when
concretiDg cannot be done on the
locks and dams.
They are well pleased with the
work that has been done this sum-
mer. Lock and dam Number 10 at
this point are virtually completed.
An opening has been left in the dam
in order to allow the passage OF the
fleets loaded with material for Num-
Der ii which lies at the head of the
pool from the Lock 8 below this
place. This opening will not be
closed until all is'completed.
The lock is the same size of the
first locks that we're placed on the
river between this place and Pitts
burg and it will be the first on the
river when completed and opened for
traffic. The lock and dam walls are
built OF cement and form practically
one solid stone. This hardens for
three years after it is placed in posi-
ton and does not disintegrate on &C
count of the action of the weather
The plan is followed for the first
time in the United States of build
ing the dams in this manner There
are concrete locks but this is the
first concrete dam ever built. The
advantage claimed for it by Mr.. Nc
Donald who has done a great deal oil
governmental work places it easily
at the head of dam construction.
A dam can be built in half of the
time and with less than sixty pei
cent of the cost that a stone dam can
be constructed is the way he puts it
This enormous saving in time and
money will result in all of the dams
and locks that may hereafter be
contracted for being built in tht
same way. The experiment has beer
watched with great interest by en-
gineers all over the country and they
share the good opinion of the result;
attained held by the contractors.
| The mixture of which the dam il
formed is composed of Portland ce
ment, Allegheny river gravel and
crushed stone, and experience shows
that it gives the best possible results
Experiments with the river grave
from the Monongahela and Cheat
rivers have demonstrated that they
cannot be used in competition with
the Allegheny gravel which is of ar
entirely different character and il
probably the old glacial drift grave
as it is only found in the rivers that
flow through the section covered by
the prehistoric sheet of ice which
pushed down from the frozen north
and crossed the Ohio at Cincinnati
While the progress that has beer
made is very satisfactory it would
have been still better had the con
tractors been able to get material
and labor as they needed them
Lock IL would be well under way
had it been possible to get what was
wanted.
AS it is IL has it's cofferdam com
pleted and great deal of the grad
ing doue. 1t will be started in the
in the spring as will also Is and Il
and they will all be pushed with the
greatest possible speed next season
During the winter months a great
deal of work is to be done at 10. The
river bank has to be paved and the
immense terrace built for the accom-
dation of the Government houses on
the West Side. The force of men
required to attend to this work will
be respectable one and it will be
started Immediately.
| In the meanwhile the concreting
will have to stop on account of the
weather as the specifications are very
rigid in this respect and the work in
the water will not be kept up during
the winter months.
Mr.. Mcdonald stated when asked
that the new locks would be water
tight. They will afford excellent
storage reservoirs for the lower locks
and will allow no water to escape by
leakage. They will be the only locks
on the river that will have this adj
vantage and they are being built
largely on account of this.