The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1902-04-17

Plans For the New Dam at
Boonton Finished by
Water Company's
Engineers.
ONE OF THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD
Interesting Data Given by Mr..
Edlow Harrison Work
Will be Rushed
at Once.
ONE or THE LARGEST In THE WORLD

Inc plans Tor the new oaln TO Holu tiIr
waters Of the Rockaway River for the
supply of Jersey city have just been
completed, and Engineer Edlow Harrison.
who drew them for the Jersey City Water
Supply Company, said this morning that
the bids for the work will be received
next week.
1t will interest Jersey City people to
know that when their dam Is built it will
rank high among the sixty big dams of
the world 1t will be a very big, big D.
Mr.. Harrison, with the plans before him.
which, to the uninitiated, looked de-
sign for fireworks, gave out some facts
concerning 1t to a News representative.
Total length, including the wings will be
3,115 feet, the masonry centre 2,15o feet,
and the height 40 feet. At the top it
will be II feet across and the base will
be 73 feet If one sliced the structure in
two. the shape of the side would be
somewhat of a right-angled triange, with
a little taken off the top.
OF the sixty big dams existing today
on the globe there are only which have
a greater length than the new one for
Jersey City at Boonton. The longest is
that at Tansa in India with a length o.
| $500 feet. Then comes another at Bhat-
gar, India, 4,C64 feet: Belwa. India, Us
feet, and the new Croton dam in Ne y
York State 2.240 feet. There are several
dams higher than the Boonton dam will
be, namely 10 feet, but they are far be-
hind in point of length. The highest
structure of the dam kind in the word
is the new Croton dam with 29l feet Next
is Furew in France, 40 feet with lengta
of 325 feet; Puentes in Spain 1856 fee.
with a length of 925 feet; .vyrnwy, Eng-
land, LAG feet; length 1850: Titicus. in this
country 1886 feet; length 534 feet; Alicante.
Spain, 134 feet, length. 100 feet; Val de
Inferno, Spain, 116 feet. $50 feet long;
Butte City, Montana, 122 fet high length,
$50 feet
$50 you see,r said Mr. Harrison. rat
Ting off these figures our dam will be
very imposing one and viii be among
the first twenty of similar structures in
the world
As to the shape Of the structure. Mr..
Harrison pointed out that II closely re-
semb.ed III form thar OF the new Croton
dam in New York State, which is is feet
across the top and 1S5 feet base. The
eterior of the structure would, he said,
present a very fine appearance, imposing.
massive and vet artistic. The Zsscidca-
tions for 1t have seen sent out to well
known contractors and the bids Will be
received on Monday next at the COM
pany's Offices 1t will take at least a few
days to figure them out. and when the
contract was awarded no time would be
lost in resuming the work The founda-
tions for the dam are practically COM
plete A huge trestle work stretches
across the valley through which flows
the Rockaway River at Boonton, and it
has been built so that the cars contain
ing the building materials from the quar-
ries can be un,oaded on both sides. This
arrangement means a great saving of
time At present there is enough stone
dressed, waiting at the quarries to be run
down by the companys railroad to the
dam site to keep the men supplied for
some time, and since there is every pros
pect for many months of fine weather
by the end of the year the dam will be
far advanced.
While all this is goin on, work will be
resumed clearing the ground to be covered
by the new reservoir. and the tunneling
through the Watching and Hook Noun
tains completed. The steel for the pipes
has already been ordered from the Gill
lespie Company and deliveries are daily
expected Work will be rushed at the
East Jersey Water Company's crossing in
Upper Montelair to make the connection
for the temporary supply of that COM
pany through the new pipes of the Jersey
City Water Supply Company. This sup
ply will be delivered at High Service at
height of 30 feet, and there will be no
need for pumping. The cost-about 900
for making this connection. building
gates, etc, will be borne by the Jersey
City Water Supply Company