Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1906-04-08
Big Sandy
Improvement
Coal 10 Become Available With
Slackwater Navigation.

DR.. Henry NJ Payne of Williamson,
special correspondent of the Manu-
facturer's Record, says The work
OF the Big Sandy Improvement Asso-
citation is now becoming OF vital In
terest to the public. especially 20
those whose interests and invest
ments are conferred In the counties
of Wayne and Mingo. West Virginia.
and Johnson, Martin, Lawrence.
BOYD, Pike and Floyd. Kentucky. all
of which lie on the Big Sandy river
or It's tributaries. the Tug and the
Levisa
THE history OF this association
is record OF; continued effort and
enthusiastic resourceful and untirlng
devotion 10 the cause OF slackwater
navigation On the part OF a small
number of public spirited In the val
ley for a number OF years.
The present project for improve
ment was submitted In 1898 by Ma
jor Bixby, corps OF engineers. and
contemplates the carrying of slack
water a tota! distance OF l73 miles
on the main river and its tributaries
by the construction of locks and
dams. The total cost of the compile
ton of this work is estimated at $4.-
100000, which allows $500 each
for the dams in the lower and 5000.
900 each for those in the upper
streams
Two OF these locks and dams.
the one at the mouth OF the Big San
dy near Catlettsburg, and the one at
Cavanaugh, are completed. and the
needle dam at Louisa Is also finish
ed, and their operation Is all that
can be desired and demonstrates the
feasibility of the plan to make the
whole system navigable by the con
struction of locks and dams
In addition to this, the first lock
In each tributary is completed and
the dam under construction, and the
funds have already been apppropri-
ated for the second lock and dam in
both Tug and Levisa forks When
completed there will be ten of these
dams in the Levisa and eight on the
former to be near Pikeville and the
latter one mile above Williamson,
which will give navigable wafer sew
eral miles above these towns
I'm a recent interview Mr. b Ran
dolph Bias, secretary of the Improve
ment Association, Williamson, w.
Va, stated that at each session the
river and haTbor bill carries an APP
preparation for the continuance of
this work, and that under this sys-
tenn the entire work would be com
pleted in six years.
THE valleys of the tributaries are
very narrow and the hills on either
side are notably precipitous. These
hills are continuously underlaid with
an incalculable wealth Of coal, OF
which IL has been estimated that
there are 2,217,216,OOO tons avail
able to direct water transportation
on this waterway. Every county iI
both valleys has millions of tons Of
coal which IS showing under author
five analyses the best grades o.
steam, domestic and coking coal
The entire territory contiguous t.
these rivers have been exhaustive.
opened and tested and the only thini
necessary to make this one OF tn,
greatest bituminous coal fields In tn
world Is transportation. Mingo coun
~ alone, one OF the smallest Of TIN
counties named, is now shipping owe
1,25O,0O0 tons a year over the Nor
folk e. Western Railway and in thi
country were "a per cent over thos
Of the preceding year.
THE main ridges at the head o
all the creeks are still covered wit
valuable timber In both the har
and soft woods. The extended line
OF the Norfolk & Western and tn
Chesapeake & Ohio systems IS sin
ply relieving temporarily the cor
gestion OF coal trahic and the 81
Sandy Valley awaits with impatienC
the arrival OF slackwater navigt
uon
HENRY NJ PAYNE