New-York tribune., 1902-05-11

Of Strengthening the river could be brought within
$4,000 the appropriation made in a law passed
in 1891 The contract finally let TO the Harres-
Letteney Company. of Boston, and the work OF
digging the new channel has been begun under
the superintendency Of John r. Baxter, of Utica
The new channel Will be about one hundred feet
wide at the bottom and about NE and a half
long. The new channel is a direct line half a
mile distant to the north from the present Genesee
ST bridge
Upon the completion OF the new channel and the
reconstruction of the sewers the railroad company
Will fill I'D the old channel for a distance of two
hundred feet west of North Genesee-st. and TO
the easterly end of the channel This will
cost the railroad about SIS 900 as the dirt must
be brought in from the foothills Of the Adiron-
dacks. fifteen miles away, which is the ac-
cessible point.
At present every sewer in the CITY enntjes into
the old bed of the river This is responsible for
great nuisance at the foot Of Genesee-st In
the time OF neshets the sewage has been hacked
up causing great annoyance in the lower part OF
the city. When the channel Of the river is changed
the sewers must be extended at such an elevation
as to preclude the possibility Of any backing up Of
the sewage water into the cellars in the vicinity
OF Bagg Square and other downtown points, I'm
I'll such time this shall be done provision must
be made to pass the city storm water and sewage
down through the present channel and out into
the river at the eastern end Of the proposed chan
mel In order to accomplish this provision has been
naoe OF TWO 12-inch steel riveted pipes laid
N''''Ne4I N44S HeH SnutOH rlVer bank while at
upper or west end provision is made for ono 2s
men cast iron pipe with shutof valve and man.
hole In the new upper deck, both pipes placed at
depth that will bring their tops under low mean
water flow.
1t has been popular notion that permanent
trunk sewer should be constructed in the old he'd
OF the river down to the narrow head Of the C,-
Do" pehu ana then, cutting through that terminate
at the lower end of this bend. trunk sewer
under tnis plan would have be able to take care
OF 100000 gallons per diem in addition to storm
water The tributary district OF the city is 1s77
acres and the watershed of Ballou Creek adds 224O
acres, making a total of 3sl7 acres
Ex-Mayor Richard W. Sherman president n, tho
Troy Public Works Company calls attention N the
great difhcultes which surround this project Mr.
Sherman says:
sewer WIN III tb be 0d NeTy expensive to attempt lay
nPW ,9 OF water down the old channel ali the time un
IN m 5he sewers IS have been changed This sort work
IA IA d PuoaIe OF water Will cost great deal, and the
men men at work IN such a place will be made sick II
Board Of Health authorities will have something TO
My plan is not to construct one great trunk
seer sewer but but tTo 70 One sewer should Connect the
Ballou Creek, the gulf sewer as some cali it
h IIlS sewer @ & should extend half mile the east
river It would be entirely outside the railway
There should be another sewer Combining the
Hiotei-s:, Genesee-st and John,st sewers. TO CON
there turn to the east and procee6 aon %
ern side of the railway Yards to the new ebsn
mel Of the river. This would be about mile in
length; Both sewers could be constructed under
thls plan up to the very point of the connection
with the old sewers. The connections could be
made very quickly after the completion of the
new channel of the river. The cost of the system
after this plan would be about $4,000
Some frightened taxpayers of the city Of Utica
place the cost Of the system at 81 100000
but IL is expected that bids will be offered to do
the work for less than one-ffth Of this amount
The city of Utica has Joined the New-York Cen
tral and Hudson River Railroad Company in
Railroad Commission
the privilege OF constructing overhead crossing
at Genesee-st, and the abandonment of Park-ave.