The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-06-25
20 FEET TO THE SEA
WILL BE SECURED For THE HAIR
BoR OF SAVANNAH.
S1,4oo,o0o IS AVAILABLE.
BIDS ON WORK WILL SOON BE ASK
ED BY GOVERNMENT.

| Cart. Gillette VIII Submit His Pro-
ject for Expenditures to the Chief
of EnRineers-Bfds VIII Be Asked
Soon Afterwards, and the Work
VIII Start as Soon as Possible
After the Award of Contracts.
Channel Is Feet Deep and of Vary
ing width VIII he Given-"MOOr-
ing DOIphins" Are to Be Built at
Venus Point md the Blight.
Capt. c. E. Gillette. United States en-
! gineer in charge of the government
! engineering work of the Savannah dis
trict, will at once submit to the chief
of engineers his project of expenditures
| for the improvement of the harbor of
! Savannah by means of the appropria-
ton recently made by Congress. This
appropriation is available now, and the
actual work of improving the harbor
will be commenced as soon as the
necessary intermediate steps can be
| taken.
The River and Harbor bill made ST.
100000 available for the Savannah har-
Dor, but, in addition to this, there is
100000 that can be used for the same
purpose. This, it will be recalled,
was the unexpended balance for work
that was not completed. The appro-
priation was made for a definite pur-
pose, which was given over, and it has
now been decided that the residue may
| be devoted to the general improve
ment of the harbor.
Capt. Gillette returned yesterday
morning from a business trip to Ma
| con. He was seen by a representa-
tive of the Morning News, to whom
he talked about the prospective work.
1t would be a difficult matter, Capt.
| Gillette said, to attempt an estimate
of the time that will be required for
| he completion of the work under the
| appropriation available. Roughly,
however, he suggested two years as
about the time that will be required.
The duration will depend largely upon
| the number of dredges that are on
| gagged upon the work. At this time
there are not very many available, as
they are busy or will be busy else
where. Had Capt Gillette been able,
is he desired, some time ago to begin
the dredging, deepening the channel
on one side, he could have secured
all the dredges he needed and had the
work well under way, and that too,
| probably at reduced cost.
From point above the city to be
determined by the chief of engineers
| the work will be mapped out to the
! Quarantine Station. 1t will probably
be divided into two phases for facility,
one being for dredging to be discharg
ed ashore; and the other for dredging
| to be scowed to back river and other
! dumping points. Bids will probably
be asked separately upon both classes
| of work
East of the Quarantine Station sea-
going dredges will be required On
| Tybee knoll and on the bar it will be
| necessary to do dredging, in order that
the 2S-foot project may be carried out.
| For this work it is probable that the
government will get its own dredge.
| Bids for the construction of a suitable
one will probably be asked. One is
now about to be launched at the north
that the government has ordered.
| This will be employed upon the Cum
berland Sound work.
From the point above the city to the
sea there will be a 2S-foot channel
This will range in width from 800 to
500 feet, being widest at the bends in
the river. The channel is now rs feet
| in depth, but not nearly so wide as l..
will be when it's depth has been in
| creased to % feet.
The money available, Capt. Gillette
says, will be sufficient for the :8-foot
project. and it will also suffice for work
on training walls and for the esta5-
| lishment of two "mooring dolphins.'
One of these will be at Venus Point
and the other at The Blight. One will
i be 1900 and the other 5000 feet long
These "dolphins" will be wharves at
which vessels will be moored, and
alongside there will be deep water.
Dredges will give a depth along the
wharves that will admit of the deepest
draught vessels floating free on low
tides. The object of the "dolphins" will
be to afford mooring ground for large
vessels that take two tides from the
city to the sea, or from the sea to the
city. They now have to make the trip
on two tides, when heavily laden, and
the necessity will remain after % feet
have been gained for the channel.
Bids will soon be asked by Capt
Gillette. The contractors who do the
work will probably employ a number
of dredSes and many men. The i'm
provement of the harbor, therefore
will mean work for employees who will
give the merchants of Savannah their
trade. A large proportion of the ST.
100000 to be expended will find it's way
to the city.
Nothing is to be done to the south
channel. The board of engineers
which made a survey found that So
100000 would be needed for the deep
ening of that channel to twenty-eight
feet, whereas $1,000,000 would suffice
for the north channel Capt. Gilette's
opinion is that the south channel of
fers advantages over the north but
he does not consider that it would
now be advisable to begin work on it.
If in 1892 when the first large appro-
priation for the Savannah harbor was
made, work had been done on the
south channel, he believes the results
would have been more advantageous
than. have followed the deepening of
the north channel Under the cir
cumstances, however, he thinks the
further deepening of the north chan
mel the wise course