Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-06-08
.ALLOTMENT OF $4,000.
Provision Made for Work in
Virginia Channel.
-REDREDGING NEEDED
SCHEDULES OF THE IMPROVE
MENTs CONTEMPLATED.
Restoration and Maintenance of Gates
and Sea Wall-Recommended
by Board of Trade.
.REDREDGING NEEDED

| Acting on the recommendation of General
| Mackenzie, chief of engineers, Assistant
| Secretary Oliver of the War Department
! today made allotment of $4,000 from
the emergency river and harbor act of
| April IS, 1904, for the restoration and
| maintenance of the Potomac river at Wash
| ington. This action was taken at the in
| stance of Colonel Miller the engineer Off
| Ger in charge of local river and harbor
works, backed up by the Washington
Board of Trade.
| Colonel Miller's recommendation was that
| the allotment of $4,000 be used as follows:
| Redredging the Virginia channel above the
Long bridge, 100000 cubic yards, at Is
| cents cubic yard, $4,000; repairs to outlet
| gates, sea wall and general maintenance,
$500; contingencies, engineering, etc.,
| $500; total $4,000.
1.-THE proposed work." says Colonel Mil
| Ter, sis for the restoration and maintenance
| of channels and river and harbor improve
4 ments made by the government. The usual
| depth in the Virginia. channel has become
| greatly impaired by reason of freshets oc-
| curing during the past season. so much SO
| that but half the improvement contem-
| plated under the present contract can be
| accomplished. The outlet gates are coca
sionally broken by steamboat swells' at
| periods of slack water, and are in need of
immediate repairs to maintain their func-
! tons A portion of the sea wall laid up
| dry, has been injured by persons throwing
| the stones into the water, thus permitting
| the erosion of the reclaimed area behind
the wall and normally protected by It. On
a work OF this character a small amount
of work looking to general maintenance Is
required. The contingencies, engineering,
etc, estimated upon are those necessary
FOR the accomplishment of the above mem
toned work. <'.' ~
There is not any sufficient fund avail
able for the work without allotment from
the appropriation of April Is, 1904. The
work is intended to restore and preserve
IN their normal condition of efficiency ex-
listing Channels and improvements. The
necessity for restoring and maintaining
them has arisen since the passage of the
river and harbor act of June 10. 1902 L
recommend that the work be done, a. 1t is
necessary In the interests of navigation
and also to protect and preserve existing
government work.
Commerce to Be Benefited. 81"
Colonel Miller recently submitted fnfor-
nation relative to the amount of commerce
to be benefited by the proposed redredging
of the channel of the Potomac river and
gave reasons why a narrower channel of
full depth will not be adequate for the,
needs of navigation. ...s. So
The annual amount of freight Skinned
through this channel" says Colonel Miller
is about 100000 tons, and consists of coal, !
Ice lumber, sand, asphalt and miscellaneous
articles. Many of the vessels passing
through the cha mel require all of the
depth which is afforded, and recently some
have grounded on the sides of the chan
mel. - -,
THE projected width for the virginia
channel is 800 feet, but In recent years the
sums appropriated have been insufficient
to do more than maintain channel 400
feet wide. This channel is repeatedly
shoaled by freshets and requires redredg-
ing. 1t was anticipated that with the funds
now available this channel could be. re-
stored to it's full depth for a width Of 100
feet. but recent deposits by freshets have
shoaled it SO nuch that a width OF but 200
feet can be obtained. which is regarded as
navigation, AS with this width vessels and
long lows of barges are apt to run, aground
on the channel sides.
An Additional Reason. ...
1.-THE fact that two bridges are Ia course
of construction across the river at this bar
and added to the difficulties of navigation
during the progress of such work affords
an additional reason for providing a suffi-
Gent width Of channel at the present time.
Further, as cuts through this bar show a
| tendency to shoal up most rapidly along
the sides, 1t is anticipated that the benefit
derived from the wider cut will be much
more lasting. The entire sum asked for
will be insufficient to make the channel 400
feet wide, except near the bridges. Above
the bridges it will be about $50 feet wide"
1t appears from an Endorsement Of this
report made by General Mackenzie, chief
of engineers, that the Washington Board
of Trade under date of May 81 last, drew
attention to existing conditions Of the chan
mel of the Potomac river between Long
Bridge and Georgetown, and urged an al
lotment from the emergency fund for that
work. General Mackenzie said the subject
had already received consideration at the
hands of the engineer officer in local charge
of the Potomac river, and invited attention
to his recommendation OF the 18th ultimo
that allotment of $4,000 be made by
the Secretary of War from the appropria-
ton Contained in the river and harbor act
approved April 2S 1904 to be applied to
work on the Potomac river at Washington.