The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-04-08
DEEPENING
HE|:H1A ! |! /: [:
Work Which VIII vii Take lIl, TWO
Years. Has Commenced.
POWERFUL STE i y ! \ DREDCE
/ The Beot ABILITIES for the Task Pose
sessed BY Mr.. y. Clement sha- III
fer, the Contractor---Has
Fifty Men. d
POWERFUL STE Am DREDGE

Work on The execution OF the 24o 900
contract for Improvement of tho James
& River and the liurbor OF Richmond has
begun. and Will be prosecuted tsteadly.
\ or this amount about S1b0.0O0 IL to be
expended ~ deepening and widening the
channel ard harbor for q distance Of
about $500 feet, up to the lock q q the
w. r. 1'rigg company. 5l h, "a,
Mr.. j Clement shafer, OF this city, Is
tho contractor for the work which IS
being done undcri:the supervision OF the
Federal government, Captain p OUNCE boz
nj 81 n a ACTIN ELY w DIRK s 81 3as3
Work has Just been begun In the chan
mel OFF the Clyde Line dock BY Contractor
Shafer, who has the Is powerful 4 steam
5dredge NJ ] \. Degnon.t u a II 8, seyernlll
h lighters and a force Of about nifty men
at work scooplng out the sand from the
channel. The entire work. embracing
4he harbor Improvement and I. the con-
struction OF Jettles and other Improve,
ments to the channel, must be done
within two years from April 4th. a be-
ginning has been made OF tho DOCKS
and the big drcdge IS steadily scooplns
up the sand and dumping It upon barges,
whence twill be toWcd down the river.
and dumped. It lis expected that other
&dredges will soon be put at work, ana q
that In short time a hundred or more
laborers will be engage In the work.
The bucket OF the drcdge now al work
will lift four cubic feet ~ sand every
two and half minutes. The excavated
matter will be dumped on tho Eenrico
side from Warwick Park IN the direction
OF the. city,. The dredging now In pro
I gress Is on what is known as the i Ga 81 a
ern port warden line g or on the Rich.
mond side Of the channel. III .5
$33sS5i XII "a GREAT WORK. ..ss
54 Some idea OF tho magnitude OF the
work 70 be done and Of the dement's 70
navigation that will follow may Y DO
Y CLEANED from the statement tina ne ne
( channel Is to be made two hundred sfeet
wide; and eighteen feet deep 4 at 3 mea an 2.
low tide a distance Of 800 feet or more.
This uniform depth OF eighteen feet a. AZ
mean low tide, which Will mea, twsenty-..
i one feet oil water at high tide, IS 70 pc
cs,a bIished from this point to Hampton
/ ROADS. thus enabling vessels with q }draIt
OF from eighteen to twenty feet to reach
this city and tie up at the docks For
years the hnrbor has been filling up until
now there is hardly more than three
feet OF water at low tide IN some pla ces
In the harbor, and 1t Is difficult forslarg
vessels to reach they docks and to turn
\ around 9ln the channel: favigat ton y OF.
y tho river has for, some years been dill
ncult, owingSto the filling up OF the chan
nell In deepening the channel OF the
river up 4 TO the Trigg lock II Is stated
that In order 10 reach a depth5of eigh-
teeen feet from two to four feet Of rock
blasting will be required. in addition to
dredging out the 81 nd. Captain John A..
N Curtis tlar bormaster. who x noWs every
81 foot 3of the bottom and Is an expert
3enccd waterman, vest ay. made that
4 statement TO "a reporter for The Times
\ Dispatch. s.i # SS I'll iij2
Mr. shafer's contract embraces not
/ only the hnrbor work. but the building
&7of tho jcttles below the city and the
deepening OF the channel where neces-I
Eary. i [. will probably take about all the
two years to complete the job.