The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-10-30
IMPROVING THE RIVER.
Work Accomplished aa Shown b,
General Wilson's Report.


General Wilson, Chief OF Engineers
! United States Army, referring in his an
| nual report to the improvement of the
Potomac River. says:
THE present. which is the original,
project for improvement. was adopted by
the act of Congress of August 2. 1882. 1t
has for its object the improvement Of the
| navigation Of the river by widening and
deepening its channels. reclamation Of the
flats by depositing on them the material
dredged from the channels. the freeing CT
the Washington Channel. SO far as it can
be done. of sewage. and the establish
ment of harbor lines beyond which no
wharves shall be built. To effect these
the project provided for twenty feet depth
in the channels at low water, for filling
in the fats to :. height of three feet above
the flood plane of 1877, and for tidal res
ervoir or basin above Long Bridge, to be
provided with inlet and outlet gates of
ample dimensions, to work automatically.
and so arranged as to admit Of the lasin
being filled from the Virginia Channel on
the flood tide and discharged into the
Washington Channel on the ebb. An am
pie system of drainage for the reclaimed
area was also contemplated.
"A training dixie on the Virginia shore.
extending downstream from the foot of
Analostan Island. was added to the pro-
ject in 1890.
THE project also provides for the re-
building of Long Bridge at an early period
during the progress of the improvement,
with wide spans upon piers offering the
least possible obstruction to the flow of
the water, and the interceptiOn OF all sew
age now discharged into the Washington
Channel and its conveyance to the James
Creek sewer canal. but neither of these
works was included in the estimated cost
OF the Improvement. which was s2.716.-
365. The estimate, as revised in 1897, Is
81 ,e5s. O2o.
THE total of appropriations for this
work, from August 2, 1852, to March 3.
1899, is s2,359. coo.
The amount expended to the close of
the fiscal year ended June 30, 1899, was
s.. zoe 1929.
THE expenditure resulted in the dredg-
ing OF a channel 20 feet deep and $50 feet
wide through the bar above Long Bridge
and in restoring the standard 20-foot nav
igation by redredging shoals due to fresh
cts: in increasing the width of the natural
channel lust below Long Bridge by so to
500 feet and In deepening it to 20 feet; in
dredging a cha eel $50 feet wide and 20
feet deep through the bar in the Virginia
Channel near Giesboro Point in dredg-
400 feet and depth OF 20 feet for a navi-
cation channel. and in dredging between
this navigation channel and the wall OF
the adjacent reclaimed area to depth OF
- feet; in dredging at the junction Of the
Washington and Virginia channels; in
dredging the tidal reservoir to a depth of
about feet; In the construction of the
outlet, and in the construction
Of 35.2S9 linear feet OF sea wall, of which
4 $40 linear feet have been taken down and
relaid, and 1866 linear feet Of training
dixie.
THE total number of cublc yards of ma
,erial dredged from the channels from the
of the Improvement (1Ss2)
10 date and deposited on the fats is about
10, s93,667 cubic yards.
THE area of land reclaimed by these
operations is 621.12 acres Cor including
reservoirs. 1892 acresl, which By ac; OF
March 3. 1897. was declared 20 be public
park, under the nam. of Potomac Park
During the past fiscal year the dreds-
ing by Mr.. Clegg was continued slowly
and ut irregular intervals up to Deem
Der % 1899 when the work was sus-
pended by the contractor and WIS not re-
sumed On April Z. 1900, he discontinued
the contract. which was accordingly an
nulled May g. 1900. Eighty thousand three
hundred and eighty-six cubic yards was
dredged and deposited upon the flats dur
ing the year.
1.-THE expenditures of the fiscal year
were for widening and deepening part Of
Virginia Channel. above Long Bridge, and
adding to the deposit for reclamation Of
the fats
The slowness OF dredging operations.
however. has permitted a shoaling OF
a part of the channel above the bridge. |
SO that the maximum draft at mean low |