Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-03-31
Work on decentralization
Drainage Project, Is Now
Progressing Rapidly
evMsE DEPOSITS BLOCKED WORK
Because of These Deposits in the
Valley Southeast of onawa, Special
Machinery Had to Be Ordered and
lnstalIed-Total Cost of Retaining
Land Will Be About $464,4s5.
to Times Republican.

Onawa, March 31.-Across two coun-
ties and redeeming many acres OF
farming land is the result expected from
the big ditch now under construction
in Monona and Harrison counties. The
work on the great drainage project
the greatest Vet undertaken in Iowa
is now progressing rapidly. All the
contractors who have been awarded
contracts to do work in either county
have been hampered ever since the
work started, with the peculiar soil In
these localities and have been COM
PEELED to build special machinery to
cope with the situation.
The great deposits of gumbo in the
valley southeast of this place has con-
tinued to block work for some time
Work will be hurried however, and two
shifts of worlSmen are being used. one
thru the day and the other at night,
by the use of electric lights. The en-
tire work will not be finished, 1t Is
thought before year from this time.
yard of Dirt, operated by electrical ma
chnery and rugged so as to dump for
ty buckets a minute are being used
in excavating a large part of the wat
erway. A temporary ditch is already
dug to take care of the water now
standing all over the country, resulting
largely from the melting of the snow
and ice. This ditch is small COM
pared with the one to be finished ana
measures feet in width at the base,
is 10 feet deep and Z feet wide at the
surface of the ground.
The main ditch will measure over
thirty feet at the top and from ten TO
twenty feet at the base. The depth VIII
average from 20 to 40 feet.
The construction of the temporary
ditch seemed necessary to aid the
workmen in the digging of an Immense
pit at the head Of the drainage ditch,
which measures so wide and 80 feet long
with a foot base This pit is intend
ed for the launching of a big scow
which is necessary for floating ma
chine shop and the installment OF the
powerful crane shovels, engine and
other appliances used on the dredge
boats. The dredge boats will be oper-
ated by electricity. They are being
rapidly installed.
The builders of the machinery for
the boat, claim that when 1t is COM
pleted and in operation it will be able
to excavate 10000 cubic yards of earth
per day. The total number OF yards OF
dirt to be moved is estimated at $780,
672 yards There will be nine cutoffs
in the Little Sioux river, of various
lengths. The cutoffs contain accord
ing to rough estimation about 100000
cubic yards of dirt. One construction
company began digging a the head OF
one of the cutoffs last July 4 and has
been ever since trying to get way
dug thru the gumbo deposit. Special
machinery had to be ordered and in
stalled and this delayed the work
greatly.
The estimated cost of the great
drainage project, Including fees dam
ages and expenses is as follows: Es-
timated cost of construction, $39S.665;
fees and costs. Harrison county, $3.50;
same in Monona county, $500; other
expenses, $4,000, making the total ex-
pense to reclaim the land about 1854
495.
There are 10000 acres of land in
the drainage district. exclusive OF
roads, right-of-way, etc. The tax on
the land varies from.20 cents per acre
the lowest assessment, to 1918 per acre
the highest The total benefits against
the property owners amounts to S13,-
456.23.
Tho total COST of the project will
probably reach over a half million dol
lars before completed, thus making
this work in northwest Iowa one of the
most important yet started in the mid
die west. The attention of contractors
was called to the work from all parts
of the country, but upon investigation
many of them would not make bio
on the work. They claimed the work
would never be finished, owing to the
peculiar construction of the soil.