The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-08-07
WORK BEGINS SOON
On Condemning Right of Way
for Levee.
ALONG LITTLE ARK. RIVER
Appraisers Will Be Appointed
at Next Council Meeting.

At the next council meeting Mayor
Mclean will be authorized to appoint the
appraisers to condemn the property neces-
sary TO build the levee and drive along
the south bank of the Little Arkansas
river from the Woodman bridge to Pine
street. The ordinance declaring this
necessary has been prepared and will be
presented to the council. The city en-
gineer has made his survey and the
property to be condemned is incorpo-
rated in the ordinance. The mayor Will
appoint three DISTINGUISHED parties who
will assess the damages for taking this
property for the city. The appraisers are
required by khe ordinance TO make full
report of the damages within twenty
days of their appointment The land
TO be condemned is q strip thirty feet
wide extending along the south bank Of
the river from the Woodman bridge to
the high ground just north Of Pine
street.
AS soon as this ground is condemned
and paid for the contract for building
the dyke will be let. The dirt for build
ing the dyke will be taken from the bed
of the river which will make the cost
of building the levee very low and will
also deepen the river several feet The
dirt viii be moved by means Of dredge
which can handle dirt for only a few
cents per cubic yard and do it rapidly.
When the levee is completed it will be
turned over to the park commissioners
and will become a part Of Wichita's
park system. The top of the levee will
be leveled and covered with crushed rock
as the drives in the other parks. The
river bank and sides Of the levee viii be
soW-n to Bermuda grass which protects
the bank from washing away and also
makes a nice appearing river bank. The
banks in Riverside park were damaged
very little last spring when water covered
everything and was flowing across the
park like a mill race. The Bermuda
grass is very hardy and the mass OF
roots and mat of grass which the grass
produces makes it a first class protec-
ton and in appearance the Bermuda grass
shows up strong with any other grass.
Trees Will be planted along the levee
which viii make this most excellent
drive extending practically from the Cen
tral avenue dam along the bank of the
river to Thirteenth street. Nearly three
miles
The surveys have been completed and
deeds are being procured from the pro-
perty owners of the land necessary for
the drive from Eleventh street, at the
north end OF the park to Thirteenth
street.
Workmen are now cleaning out the I'M
6erbrush of the space just west of the
Griffenstein bridge on the south side of
the river. This land was purchased two
weeks ago by the city and Includes con-
troll of the river and thirty feet along
the bank for seventeen hundred feet west
of the bridge There Is low land along
the river which is filled with trees and
underbrush and the park commissioners
have begun work cutting out these trees
and deepening and widening the channel
The park commissioners claim that the
trees and underbrush above the bridge
narrowed the channel and backed the
water up so that it ran across into the
Central park. The commissioners have
tried to purchase the property for some
time but were unsuccessful until a few
weeks ago The cleaning up of this strip
of land viii add TO the appearance of
the park property.
Next month the commissioners viii let
the contract for raising and widening the
drive in North Riverside park from the
high ground at Lewellyn avenue to the
Greihenstein bridge and on mp the river
10 Eleventh street. The building of the
Ievee along Ninth street will prevent the
water backing UP into the north parks
as has occurred in the past few years