Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-06-23

OF land from the bridge to Myrtle
street is composed OF sandy loan,
which crumbles very fast under the ac-
ton OF the water, which intensifies the
difficulties, and all goes to show the
folly of maintaining buildings or lots
in such places This land erodes much
faster than at any other point within
the city limits, and the river has now
reached a point where the erosion
must be faster than heretofore, as the
current now flows directly at the foot
OF the bank from the Wabash trestle
to the bridge, whenever the river rises
two feet or more, and, as the water
rises still more, the current increases,
and hugs the bank still closer, and
there scores it's deepest channel ri
the river is left to itself, have not
the least doubt but in a very few years
the point must recede 200 or 800 feet,
necessitating an extension of the
bridge, two spans at least, If indeed it
does not break through at point sew
eral hundred feet above and destroy
the roadway and much valuable prop
erty.
THE remains of the old rip-rap and
crib, the forming accretions on the left
bank growing to willows, together with
many numercur coffer-dams above and
below the Market street bridge, caus.
ing the current to turn sharply to the
southeast, and the dip of the bed of
rock, forever precludes the possibility
OF retrograde movement of the chan.
mel.
ut is therefore necessary to stop the
erosion of the bank and the lateral
down stream movement of the channel
by artificial means, and that too, as
soon as 1t is possible to make provis-
ions for the same. herewith submit
for your consideration three distinct
plans for the protection of the bank in
question.
First plaintiffs plan is to build
a revetment from the Wabash rail-
road trestle near Richmond to the
bridge, of stone and willow fascines,
woven into mattresses, where the
securing action OF the water requires
it. The bank to be graded to Uni
form slope Of ? to /, the willow mats
to be placed at the foot of the bank
where it is constructed, OF loose mater
lial; the bank to be riprapped with
stone to the depth of one foot and the
finished reyetinent to reach a height
| of one foot above high water line of
1892.
From Myrtle street to the bridge,
where the Bank is below hlgh-water
line, levee is to be built thirty feet
wide at the bottom and ten feet wide
at the top; the outer or river side to
be continuation of the regular slope
of to |, from the water up; this fill
ed bank to be protected with brush
and stone, and all brought to the
height of one foot above high-water
| line Of 1892. The remains OF the old
iriprap to be removed
Second plan.-To construct sixteen
short training dykes consisting of two
rows Of oak piles; the piles in each
row to be tel feet apart between cen
tiers. The piles to be sunk to not less
than ten feet penetration il the bed
rock will admit of it: the piles to be
OF such length that when in place their
tops will, where exposed to the current
be below the heavy drift line, and in
sissSS water, near the shore, extend to
above high-water; to be braced longi-
tudinally with 4xSx12 foot oak wallings
those on the up stream row of piles
to intricate down stream and to be
bolted to the piles; to be three strings
of these wales, one at the top of the
piles, one at the waters surface, and
the third about midway between them;
! to be braced dagonally from upper to
lower row, and to be btaced direct.
Where exposed to scouf, these dykes
! to be provided with woven mats con
structed of willow fascines, not less
than one foot in thickness and not less.
than thirty feet in width, SO placed
that twenty feet of the mat will be
above and ten feet below the center
line OF dykes; the width OF the same
may be increased il found necessary.
| The foot mats to be loaded with two
cubic yards of rock to each square of
mattress. The shore half of each dyke
TO be hurdled by the use OF tree tops
placed between the rows OF pilins. The
bank at the shore line to be graded
! and reverted for twenty feet above