The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-12-15


 on FOOt-The Breakwaters Haven
 of Safety for Many Vessels During
 storm and Fog.
 The following interesting extracts are culled from the report Of the chieI of engineers of the United States army:
 New Haven Harbor, Connecticut This is a bay on the north shore or Long Island Sound extending about four miles inland and from one to two miles wide. Mill and Quinnipiac rivers, navigable for about one and three miles, espectively, above their mouths, empty into the head of the harbor from the northeast. The original available Iow-water depth from the wharves to Cranes bar, one-third way down the harbor, was nine feet; thence to Fort Hale, hathaway down, It was sixteen feet or over. Below Fort Hale was a broad bar of soft mud extending across the channel, with available depth of thirteen feet. The harbor en- trance was partly obstructed by seve- ral sunken rocks. In Quinnipiac river the available 1ow-water depth was about four feet, and in the west branch of Mill river about five feet to the head of the present projected improvement. Above this pjoint both rivers are for the most part available for navigation only at high tide. The entire east branch of Mill river ran nearly bare at low tide.
 In 1870 a project was adopted for re- moval of sunken rocks at the harbor eitrance. This work was not continued after 1875, when the harbor breakwa ter were first proposed. In 1871 the project was extended to include deep ening the harbor channel the proposed depth and width being modified from time to time as appropriations were made, so that when the present pro- ject was adopted, March 3, 1899, it con- sisted in making channel sixteen feet deep and from four hundred to seven hundred feet wide from Long Island Sound to the head of the harbor and in constructing a dike to contract the channel across Fort Hale bar, at a to- tai estimated cost from beginning of $S4S,OOO. This project was nearly com pleted, the deficiencies being in the length of channel arm of the dike, which was about two-thirds the pro- jected length, and in widening the channel across Fort Hale bar, which was only two hundred feet wide. The total amount expended on previous projects fas S325, ,695.66 .t The present project, act of March 8, 1899, is to dredge channel twenty feet f1., y5a miles long, from Long Island Sounr to Canal dock; thence one-half mile to Tomlinson bridge, of same depth and three hundred feet wide; and three an- chorage basins of twenty. sixteen and twelve feet depths, at cost not to ex- ceed $345,000, and, act of June 13 1902, to extend the twelve-foot improvement to the Quinnipiac and Mill rivers to Grand avenue, provided the cost did not exceed the total amount authorized in act of March 3, 1899. The project for the latter-named works, as approved January 27, 1903, is: A channel twelve feet deep and two hundred feet wide in Quinnipiac river to Ferry street bridge; 8 channel eight feet deep and fifty feet wide in Quinnipiac river, through the shoals at the ends of the natural channel between Ferry street and Grand avenue bridges, and a chan mel twelve feet deep and two hundred feet wide in Mill river to the junction of the two branches above Chapel street and thence twelve feet deep and seventy-five feet wide up each branch to Grand avenue, and, as approved Mo- vember 27, 1903, extension of the eight foot channel in Quinnipiac river to Grand avenue bridge. The above pro- ject was completed April 26, 1904 main- ly under continuing contract, and the improvement has been maintained.
 The amount expended on the exist ing project up to the close of the fiscal year ending June 9O 1905, was $2SS,- 799,61, of which $15, ,593.40 was for main- tenance.
 The maximum draft which could be carried June 30, 1905, through the main channel to Tomlinson bridge is twenty feet at can low tide; above Tomlfnson bridge the maximum low-water draft which could be carried up Mill river to Grand avenue bridge is twelve feet in both branches; up Quinnipiac river to Ferry street bridge, twelve feet, and "1oAI I'CA y otISCL bIIuSG LO GFdNu ave- nue little more than six feet in the natural channel connecting the two portions of the dredged channel The depth in this dredged channel is eight feet. The mean rise of tide is 5.7 feet at entrance to the harbor and 6.6 feet
 The work donat Tomlinson bridge.
 The work done has enabled deeper draft vessels to use the harbor than was formerly possible. Vessels draw ing from twenty-two to twenty -three feet now regularly enter the harbor, and vessels drafts are now limited by the depth of water in the various berths and slips and not by the depth of the main channel.
 The engineer officer in charge invites attention to and explains the commer- clal need of greater capacity of chan mel in the Quinnipiac river to Ferry street bridge.
 The commerce of New Haven harbor is mainly in coal, steamboat freight, shellfish and shells, lumber, steel bil- lets and pig iron. The tonnage for the calendar year 1904 was 1,511, APT aons, valued at I31, ,02S, ,21O.31, a decrease of T45 ITO ions from that reported for 1909