Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1907-09-13
PROGRESS AT THE DAM
The Heavy Rains and HigherWater
Have Helped the Work

Construction Of the Last Section Of the
cofferdam Has 5egun-the Big Pumps
Have Plowed a Hole Clear Through the
High eank-oettng Ready for the Con-
crete.
The severe rains of last week and this
have materially curtailed the amount Of
work done by manual labor at the Con-
necticue river dam but the various ma
chimes have been steadily at work and
the amount of work actually accomplished
is not much less than It would have been
under favorable weather conditions. The
speed and economy with which the two
big sluicing plants are excavatlng the
blum on the New Hampshire shore make
the pick and shovel method insignificant.
The results from the sluiclng method
have been so satisfactory that few If any
more men will be employed in excava-
ton The present gang will be kept at
work but no additions to the force will be
made until the concrete work Is begun
The rain proved n blessing I'm one par
tcular as 1t washed out considerable
portion Of the river bed above the north
crib work This necessitated redriving
the plankng but 1t was a good thing I'm
the end as the sheathng now rests on the
solid ledge. Before the rains 1t was driven
could not be driven to the bed rock The
volume Of the river about doubled on ac-
count of the rains and all this fine silt and
quicksand was washed away. The engi-
neers are now sure that the cofferdam is
where it will stay until they are through
with It. The north and south section OF
the Golfer dam cribbng is In place and H.
being loaded with rock ballast, the rock
being taken out over the north section on
the railway which has been built there.
Work began Tuesday on the southern
section of the cOfferdam cribbing, which
will extend from the southern end OF the
north and south crlbbing to the New
Hampshire shore. When this Is COM
pleted, sheathed and ballasted rectan-
gular box will have been constructed,
three sides being OF the crlbbing and one
side the New Hampshire ledge. The
water inside this huge box will be pump
ed out and the construction of the dam
itself will begin on the river bed thus
laid bare. Just when this will be cannot
be foretold but the speed with which the
work is going now indicates that the
southern section Of the cofferdam will go
In more quickly than the northern No
work will be done on the Vermont side
between rocks in midstream and the
Vermont shore until the eastern section
of the big dam itself is practically COM
pleted. a large amount OF rock is be-
ing piled up near the stone crusher on
the New Hampshire shore ready to Je
broken up when the laying Of the con-
crete begins
The construction of the water-tight
conerdam from the New Hampshire shore
to the rocks in midstream has turned the
full current of the river into compare
lively narrow channel between the rocks
and the Vermont shore. The increase in
the volume of water in the river due to
this channel like mill race and several
parties OF canoeists have already come
TO grief In attempting to go through. one
party of campers going down the river
last week were upset in midstream and
were rescued by the employees with
boat. The campers lost everything they
had but tent and the canoe which
foated ashore farther down stream, Their
outfit was mostly in two dress suit cases
which may be recovered when the west
ern section OF the dam is built. Another
party took the precatutlon to remove their
belongings and most OF their clothing to
the dry land before attempting the pas
sage. They tipped over before they were
fairly In midsteam and were rescued by
the workmen. The men say that when
the next canoe comes in sight they are
going to launch their big boat on the
chance OF an upset
The grading for the spur track from the
Central Vermont railroad to the dam site
has been completed and the rails will be
laid next week, probably. BY use of the
track the materials to be used In the con-
struction OF the dam will be unloaded at
the dam site and not hauled by teams
Construction Committee Visit the Dam.
The members OF the construction COM
mittee of the Connecticut River Power
company were in town Wednesday on a
Of ~
dam. The committee went down to the
dam site in the morning and looked over
the work already oone and discussed the
plans for future progress. There was n
general expression Of satisfaction with
what has been done, and a feeling that
the conditions for a rapid advance Of the
construction work are highly favorable.
The committee We're especially impressed
with the execution done by the hydraulic
streams, mentioned above. A second
pump has been started and yesterday q
opening was made clear through the high
bank on the New Hampshire side. For
the present one OF the pumps and its
stream will be used to wash the north
ern slope of the bank which now re-
mains into the river for a backing of the
upper section of the criD or cofferdam
and to stop leaks in It, while in due course
the southern slope of the hill will be
washed down into the river to make a
backing for the lower section of the
cofferdam.