The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-10-25
INSPECT WORK
ON NEW CONDUIT
City Officials Take Trip to Big Cot
tOnwOOd Canyon.
OBSERVE PROGRESS MADE
IMPRESSED WITH STEPS TO I'M.
PROVE WATER SUPPLY.
r o appreeiate fuIIy tbe magnitud.

= o appreciate fully the magnitude
and early progress OF the great
work of bringing the waters OF
Big Cottonwood to Parley's canyon.
Salt Lake must go to the scene of ac-
ton or rather scenes Of action. as did
"a score of city officials yesterday. IN
GLIDING Mayor Morris and nine coun-
ciimen. Even these men, who have
been instrumental in gaining for Salt
Lake a greater water supply. who have
seen on paper how the thing was going
and what it meant, could not restrain
their surprise and favorable comments
yesterday as they gazed at the growth
of the great project.
Imagine a great row OF unduiating
ridges. covered with sage and scrub
oak; a zigzag streak running north and
south, following the steep sides. now
losing itself IN a tunnel. nov leapine
some gully, lost on one side and found
again on the other; creeping gradu-
ally lower and lower until after a
journey of seven miles IL slips into Par
ley's canyon. This is the route OF the
conduit. and already there are men
working on four miles of the SPACE. At
the upper end gang Is placing wood
en- concrete forms IN place; farther
south excavation is being pushed,
trenches later to be filled by the con-
crete forms and in turn by the coll
crete itself. are being dug. Then a
further jump of a mile south finds men
at work on the longest Of the tunnels
400 feet. A little beyond and another
tunnel is being made, this to be ESQ
feet long. And at intervals during the
first four miles Of the concrete route
great clouds Of dust show TO those in
the valley below that graders are at
work.
In turn wonderment at the difficulty
of the thing gives way TO admiration
at its simplicity and at the plans
which have made possible the bringing
TO Salt Lake Of Big Cottonwood creek.
Members Of the Party.
The following city officials made the
trip TO Big Cottonwood yesterday
and spent the afternoon in ex-
aiming various phases of the work
Mayor Richard p. Norris. City En-
gineer George W. Ritter. Engineer in
Charge George A. Bacon. Consulting
Engineer A. T. Doremus, Special COun-
sci +. s. Richards, Auditor c. B. Felt
Recorder John s. CritchlOw. Water
superintendent Frank L. Hines and
COuncilmen +. J. Hewlett, F. 5. Fern
strOm, T. r. Black. +. A. Hartenstein.
HOLIDAY. George d. Dean, A.
J. Davis, 4. E. Barnes ard J. II.
Preece.
Mayor First to Leave.
The first party 10 leave consisted u
Mayor Morris and AIessrs. Ritter, DOre-
mus and Richards. They went directly
TO the -four mill of r. Knudsen and
examined the water rights which
Knudsen claims TO have at two differ
ent places on his property. One OF
these, for % secOnd-feet. was appro-
priated for the purpose of running the
mill. Knudsen claims a second grant
of water rights. which he says he in
tends to use in the development of cleo
trical energy.
The other members of the party, as
named, followed later, about a dozen
leaving the city and county building
at $3.50 a. m. The first officials to arrive
at the scene of operations were Messrs.
Bacon, Davis. Black, Fernstrom, Dean.
HOLIDAY, CritchlOW and Hines. They
reached the point OF diversion of the
Big Cottonwood about 1l:l5 O'Clock.
and at once proceeded to so over the
first mile of the route.
Working on Concrete Forms.
Their attention was at once called to
the wooden forms the laying Of which
began Monday. The forms are built
in siX-fOot sections. the short lengths
being necessary because of the curves
to be taken. These forms are built 90
accommodate a concrete flume three
and one-half feet wide by four feet
deep. The purpose Of the forms IS 10
allow the concrete 20 harden IN proper
shape, this process taking about seven
DAYS. The floor" and sides Of the
conduit will be laid first, then the top.
While the concrete has not yet been
placed IN any Of the forms, the eA-
pectations are that work IN thss d.
rectiOn viii begin in a few days. Y
is calculated that between 200 ana 800
feet can be laid daily.
From the upper end OF the CONDUIT
then. are to be seen a number OF
these forms in place ready for con-
crete. To divert the water into the
conduit a dam is to be built, the
height of which has not yet been de-
teTmined.
Beginning at this point. approxi-
mately a dozen miles from Salt Lake,
the city officials yesterday morning
began their inspection. Nor was II a
one. Into trenches, through
rows Of shovel-armed laborers, over
the toughest kind Of "rip-rap," up hill
and down, they pursued their way.
And their establishment grew as they
went on.
Busy at Every Step.
The work appears to be not merely
progressing" but something faster
than that term. Like the advance line
Of some army, scores of laborers throw
ing up dirt from trenches and making
grades confronted the visitors. Not one
step of the entire mile of grade made
by the Utah Light * Railway COM
pany for its proposed new plant but
what presented some phase of the big