Los Angeles herald., 1907-08-03
OUTFALL IS
NEARLY DONE
TUNNELERs MAY SHAKE HANDS
THROUGH CUT TODAY
HUMAN MoLEs PROPOSE BAN
QUIET TO ENGINEER
Taking Up Work Where Contractors
Defaulted, Homer HamIin Success
fully Carries on Remarkable
Underground Work

without special ceremony the tunnel
men at work on the great outfall sewe
announced last night that by today o
possibly Monday the boring would b
finished. BY November 1 it is believes
the entire undertaking will be ended.
The hardest of the preliminary worl
will be finished if no mishap occurs mean
time, within few hours, and one of th
most remarkable tunnel exploits in th
western country will have been carried
out after contractors had scoffed at thu
idea. A banquet will probably be ten
dered by the tunnel force to City Engi
neer Homer Hamlin Monday night.
For several days City Engineer HamliI
and his assistants have been looking for
ward to the proud moment when the bore
would be complete and all his predictions
concerning the big sewer verified. The
whole force is jubilant as result.
All day yesterday the men on opposite
sides of the earth wall could hear the
sounds of each others tools. Only about
twelve feet of saturated earth and gravel
separates them.
Crews of bricklayers and cement men
are following the tunnelers rapidly and
within a month the difficult section of
the sewer will be completed.
Work Under Difficulties
The boring has been done through the
water-bearing lands at Inglewood. where
the underground lake is so troublesome
that a series of wells had to be sunk
along the tunnel line. AS rapidly as the
water accumulated in these wells 1t was
pumped out, the stream filling sluice boxes
foot square or more.
These pumps have been kept going
right and day for several months. By re-
heving the pressure of water it enabled
the workmen to progress in their diff
cult undertaking-so difficult that Con-
tractors Stansbury and Powell threw up
the contract when they reached this
point.
The contractors complained that their
men would have been drowned in the sat-
urated ground had they continued.
Several of the big timbers put in place
by Hamlin's men have from time to time
cracked when the weight was unevenly
distributed but the entire job has been
remarkably free from mishaps.
Much Water Displaced
1t is estimated that the pumps have
lifted about one billion gallons of water
from depths ranging from 80 to 105 feet,
all this water being sent out toward the
lowlands to flow where it could.
Twelve a1rllIt ana centrifugal pumps
have been used for the work. 1t is be-
lieved these can be utilized later on the
aqueduct work.
About $50 men have been kept busy day
and night on the wet section, working in
eight-hour shifts.
Engineers state that about one-half of
the sewer is absolutely watertight.
Elsewhere when the brick has been laid
and the pumps withdrawn the water will
rise above the level of construction.
The tunnel section constitutes the hard
est stretch of the 1858 feet of sewer work.
OF the remainder there is a section of
1900 feet of open cut.
Will Cost About 81 100000
When Stansbury & Powell quit work the
sewer had cost about $712,0O0. 1t was es-
timated then that the remainder of the
work could be done for 1854, 600 additional.
This will bring the cost up to $1,276OOO.
The city paid the contractors in INSTALL
ments and the latter now claim that one
fourth of $125,0O0 is still due them.
However, the city proposes to sue on
the bond and will make a counter claim
deducting the cost from the contract.
1t is thought the sewer will have cost
81. 4o00 900 when completed
The city will assume one item of loss
Of $4,000 due to a cavern in an interval
when the supply of brick which the city
was furnishing ran short. Because of the
absence of the brick weakness developed
in the partial work