Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-10-29
I'M PROVING THE RIVER
BENEFITS TO NAVIGATION FROM
DREDGING.
Vessels Can Come to This City Load
ed More Heavily Than Was
Formerly the Case.

In his annual report, Gen. Wilson reviews
the operations for the improvement OF the
Potomac river, in charge of Lieutenant COL
onel Chas. ]. Allen, captain of engineers,
during the past fiscal year in part, as
follows:
The total of appropriations for this work,
from August 2, 1882, to March B, 1899, Is
81, 359, 600
The amount expended to the close of the
fiscal year ending June 80, 1899, was S2.2o6,-
us %.
The expenditure resulted in the dredging
of a channel twenty feet deep and 800 leet
wide through the bar above Long bridge and
in restoring the standard twenty-foot naVi-
cation by redredging shoals due to freshets:
in increasing the width of the natural
channel just below Long bridge by 80 to 500
feet and in deepening it to twenty feet: in
dredging channel $50 feet wide and TWEEN
ty feet deep through the bar in the Vir-
ginia channel near Giesboro' Point; In
dredging the Washington channel to
width of 400 feet and depth of twenty feet
for navigation channel, and In dredging
between this navigation channel and the
wall of the adjacent reclaimed area to a
depth of twelve feet; in dredging at the
junction of the Washington and Virginia
channels; in dredging the tidal reservoir
to a depth of about eight feet; in the
construction of the reservoir outlet and
in the construction of $3.50 linear feet
of sea WALL of which 1910 linear feet have
been taken down and relaid, and $3.50 linear
feet of training dixie.
The total number of cubic yards of ma
terial dredged from the channels, from the
commencement of the Improvement QSS2)
to date. and deposited on the flats is about
1888 COZ cubic yards.
The area of land reclaimed by these
operations is 621. IL acres Cor including res
ervoirs, 739.42 acres. which by act of
March 3, 1897 was declared to be public
park, under the name of Potomac Park.
Dredging Operations.
During the past fiscal year the dredging
by Mr.. Clegg was continued slowly and at
irregular intervals up to December %, 1899,
when the work was suspended by the con-
tractor and was not resumed. On April
I, 1900, he discontinued the contract. which
was accordingly annulled May 8, 1900.
Eighty thousand three hundred and eighty
six cubic yards of material was dredged
and deposited upon the flats during the
year.
The expenditures of the fiscal year were
for widening and deepening part of Vir-
ginia channel above Long bridge and add
ing to the deposit for reclamation of the
flats.
The slowness of dredging operations,
however has permitted a shoaling of part
of the channel above the bridge so that
the maximum draft at mean low tide which
could be carried over this, the shoalest part
of the improvement was on June 30, 1900,
fifteen feet short bar has also recently
formed at the entrance to the Washington
channel the maximum draft over (which at
the same stage is seventeen feet With
these exceptions the Washington channel
has a depth of twenty feet, and the Vir-
gfnia channel the same, after leaving the
bar above Long bridge. 1t is expected to
remove these shoals under a new contract
during the present fiscal year.
Benefits to Navigation.
The benefits to navigation from the i'm
provements have been marked Vessels
can come to Washington loaded more heav-
lily than was formerly the case.
The items of work remaining to be COM
pleted are as follows: The dredging and
redredging of the Virginia channel, the re-
dredging of the Washington channel and the
raising of the remainder of the reclaimed
Ia H., l.