The Savannah morning news., 1902-08-16
FOR $I,2OO,OOO JOB
SPECIFICATIONS OF DREDGING
WORK GONE TO WASHINGTON.
HARBoR PROJECT APPROVED.
APPROVAL OF SPECIFICATIONS
WILL COME IN TWO WEEKS.


Then the Advertisement for bids
Will De Made-ContrRct Involves
over 6,OOO,OOO Cubic Yards OF
Dredging and VIII Cost the Gov
ernment in the NeighbOrhOOd OF
81, 2OO,0OO-COntrnct Will Be for
Dredging to Quarantine, While
Below That Point the Governme mt
VIII Do the Work ItseIf-$2OO,00O
SeagOing Dredge to BE Con-
structed.
Specifications for the dredging pro-
ject to give the harbor of Savannah a
channel depth of twenty-eight feet
from the wharves TO the sea were for
warded to the War Department yes
terday morning by Capt. c. e. Gill
Iette In a week or two the adver-
Using for bids for the work, which
will involve the expenditure of over
81, O0O, 900, will begin.
The project has received the APP
prevail of the division engineer and
the chief of the corps. This APP
prevail was given a week ago, but the
specifications were not forwarded to
the department until Capt. Gillette's
return to the city.
A $I,20O,OOO Job.
The specifications call for more than
5000, 900 cubic yards of dredging and
there is little probability that the
government will get the work done for
much less than S1.2O0OOO. The work
to be done under the contract will ex-
tend from the old water works to
quarantine over the whole course of
the channel.
AS soon as the specifications have
been approved by the War Department
bids will be advertised for. The bids
will be received at the end
of thirty days and the contract for the
work will then be awarded. As soon
thereafter as practicable the actual
work will begin.
AuNiIiary InIproe
a contract was let yesterday for the
construction of a closing dixie at the
entrance to south channel, which will
serve to divert part of the water now
passing through that channel to the
north channel, which is used for navi-
cation. This will give a greater flow
of water in the used channel and thus
aid the dredging in producing the de-
sired result-a 2S-foot channel to the
sea.
From quarantine to the ocean bar
the dredging will be done. not by con-
tract, but by the government itself. To
accomplish this work a sea-going
dredge will be necessary and this the
government proposes to have built by
contract. at an approximate cost of
S200,0 900 The dredge will be of steel, it
is probable, of the latest design and
provided with every modern apparatus.
The contract for the construction Of
this dredge viii not be awarded, how
ever, until some time in the future.
To Continue Work of Maintenance.
Arrangements to continue the
dredging for the maintenance of the
present channel depth were also
made by Capt. Gillette. When the
last maintenance contract was award
ed it was in two parts-that for the
work below the Plant System wharves
going to P. Sanford Ross, and that
above the wharves to the Coast Jetty
Company of New York
Work on the Ross contract has been
in progress since it was awarded, but
Capt. Gillette has never been able to
locate the Coast Jetty Company or to
gain any information as to when 1t
proposed to begin operations. On yes
terday, therefore, Capt. Gillette effect
ed an arrangement with Charles Ely,
representing the Ross interests, to do
the dredging provided for in the con-
tract awarded the Coast Jetty Com
pany, at the same price, 20 cents a
cubic yard, as had been named in the
accepted bid.
The maintenance work thus arrang
ed for involves about 10000 cubic yards
of dredging and will cost the govern
ment about $4,000.
Every DreGGe and Scow at Work.
The Empire Dredging Company is
also to be concerned in the work, and
will furnish some of the scows which
will be used. Work will be begun as
soon as these scows which are now
being used on the completion of an old
contract, are no longer being used for
this purpose. Within four or five weeks
every dredge and scow in the harbor
will be at work, maintaining the chan
mel depth until operations to secure
the increased channel can be begun.
One considerable cause of trouble in
the navigation of the harbor by YES
sells of deep draught will be removed
in the course of the next few weeks.
There is a shoal on Tybee Knoll which
Las occasioned much trouble. Capt
Gillette has ordered to Savannah the
government dredge Cape Fair, which
is now at work in Cumberland Sound.
In a couple of weeks after it reaches
Tybee, for which point it will start on
Aug. 81 the shoal will be a thing OF
the past.